this is bbc news. the democrats kick off their big election year party. it was meant to be milwaukee — now it's in cyberspace. not quite the same buzz. tonight's star speaker is michelle obama — how many democrats wish she was on the ticket? there will be four live stages in delaware, wisconsin, la, and new york as democrats try to bring the party and the country together in a virtual convention. also in the programme... no new elections in belarus, not unless you kill me, says alexander lu kashenko.

but the protests against the president are growing. and a u for u turn — the exam fiasco that forces the english government to abandon an algorithm for grading a—level exams. the grades will now be based on teacher predictions. hello i'm katty kay in washington, christian fraser is in london — and we are very happy to be back on air. it's been too long. this is our new time slot, mon — thurs. we don't have a name, but that's fine. what we do have is a lot to talk about. starting with the 2020 democratic national convention. which is, let's face it, sort of weird this year. what was meant to happen was that tens of thousands of eager democrats were going to jam the streets of milwaukee, shmoozing, partying, pontificating and formally ratifying their chosen

presidential candidate. covid made that impossible so now it's all online and on tv. katty who has been to eight party conventions over the years is secretly relieved, but if like me you are partial to balloons, silly hats, national anthems, big crowds — well, you could get all nostalgic. applause there is not a liberal america and a conservative america — there is the united states of america. cheering and applause with profound gratitude and great humility, i accept your nomination for presidency of the united states. ladies and gentlemen, our next president, hillary clinton. it is with humility, determination

and boundless confidence in america's promise that i accept your nomination for president of the united states. cheering oh, my god! as you can see, that is how it is meant to be, that is how it is going to be. let's speak to our colleague laura trevelyan who's in wilmington delaware, which is wherejoe biden and kamala harris will be giving their convention speeches. how do they get that kind of excitement, the buzz that is meant to kick—off their election campaign with their blandly new minted candidate and vice presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate if they are not in person? brand—new meant to decant it. candidate if they are not in person? brand-new meant to decant it. good question, not many of us have signed a 200m sexy, question, not many of us have signed a zoom sexy, but that is what the democrats are trying to do. —— find

zoom sexy. it is all on him and while this comes together and it is all about uniting america, so we had people from all wings of the democratic party, indeed a former governor as well to show that joe biden will unify where donald trump has divided. that is the ideal as well. how do they bring them all together? the highlight of any convention is the so—called roll call, every state is in the spotlight, they deliver how many delegates are giving to the candidates, so if they have got 50 odd vocals, how do they do that? noting it tomorrow night and it will bea noting it tomorrow night and it will be a quick race around the country. it will not be the usual protracted affair. this is the big challenge for democrats, how do you break out of the confines of the remote format and how do you get through to the american people because this is at their big week to showcase. the focus has been a donald trump since january 2017, more or less nonstop. now democrats have a whole week,

finally, to themselves and joe biden's message is that he wants to reclaim the soul of america and he has to use this format without any technical glitches, by the way, no dogs, no children, we hope. to try to get through. and solidify what appears to be a lead in the polls, but all democrats have ptsd after 2016. when hillary lost. yeah, thank you very much in delaware, not in milwaukee where the convention is meant to be. a good time for us to be coming back because there is an awful lot happening. this is the big celebrity kick—off to the 2020 election. we are 90 days away. going into the democratic convention, —— celebratory kick—off. joe biden is co mforta ble celebratory kick—off. joe biden is comfortable ahead. there are a slew of new polls out today and he is co mforta ble of new polls out today and he is comfortable ahead on them. it is a good moment for them. the last time we we re

good moment for them. the last time we were together, we do a stepjoe biden and you say leave it to me, he will talk to us. since then, he has beenin will talk to us. since then, he has been ina will talk to us. since then, he has been in a basement in delaware. i don't know if the two are connected, but thing is this week he is going to be in the spotlight, cannot hide any more any convention and they will be looking at the ticket, not just him, but of course kamala harris. yeah. and of course, she is one who is energising the party, remarkably unifies and they have raised $50 million in the days after her announcement. odd that we have the daughter of an indian and jamaican, woman, being safe as the —— scene is this say choice by the democratic party but she is generating excitement. when i woke up generating excitement. when i woke up this morning and realised we were going to be back on air, i was excited too. until i saw this... and i thought, what are we doing? i am back on with that very odd guy again. come on, you have missed me, really. it is no fun in the basement! it is now finally

basement! it is now finally basement! —— no fun in the basement. moving swiftly long. let's get to my politics. —— to politics. it's perhaps surprising in this age of email, texting, and social media, that the us political world is focused on the humble post office. so much so that house speaker nancy pelosi will call her members back from their august break, to prevent what she's called a "campaign to sabotage the election". which begs the question: why the post office? well, let's take a step back and explain. back in may, house democrats included $25 billion in funding for the post office in a coronavirus relief package. that's because postal officials are expecting a record number of people to mail in their ballots this year, due to the pandemic. and they have warned that due to high volume, mail could run slow and ballots won't get returned and sorted in time for the election day deadline. so they want more money to sure everyone's ballot gets there on time.

so far, makes sense. except president trump doesn't want to agree to those extra funds. he's claimed, without much evidence, that mail—in—ballots would lead to widespread fraud. democrats say the head of the post office, a trump ally, has been slowing down mail operations on purpose, to give mr trump an edge in the election because they think more democrats will vote by mail than republicans. social media has been flooded with pictures like these, of mail boxes ripped from their spots on america's streets, and piled high. here's mr trump at the white house today. this universal mail—in is a very dangerous thing. it's fraught with fraud and every other thing that can happen, and we have to be very, very careful. we have a very big election coming up. i think we're going to do very well and i want to make sure the election is not stolen. now, there is a lot to cover in this story, but a quick clarification: mail—in voting is when the states automatically provide ballots

to all registered voters. california hasjoined a handful of other states like washington and colorado in doing so. absentee ballots a re when a voter requests a ballot, like mr trump himself did, since he won't be able to vote in person in florida. a difference? sure. a big one? not really. because again, it all comes back to the mail. so let's bring in some of our friends to help ‘sort‘ through this. ron christie is a former political advisor to george w bush, and a dearfriend of the programme. mary anne marsh is a democratic strategist, who hasjoined us for some of our biggest programmes over the years. a warm welcome to you both. it is good to have you back with us. let's talk about this. if you destroy confidence in the mail—in ballot system, you first people to come out and vote, and america has just gone through the 170,000 deaths from covid—19 — is a trait that the president is forcing people to go

out and deliver the about? —— is it right. good evening to you, kristian. welcome back to both of you. —— christian and katty. there are approximate 171 million pieces of mail delivered every day in the united states and if you look at the eligible voters, you're talking about 158 million people so the notion that the postal service cannot deliver any number of weeks these ballots, ithink cannot deliver any number of weeks these ballots, i think it's ridiculous. the present, once again, “ once ridiculous. the present, once again, —— once to score a point. —— the present. the postal service is not theissue, present. the postal service is not the issue, the issue is that the president has now made this an issue that we are all talking about and people are now going to say, is the integrity of our elections and? someone i listened to today made the point that there are lots of extra things that are put into the postal service around christmas time and it

does not come to a grinding halt. is that not compatible to what we are expecting in the coming weeks?m that not compatible to what we are expecting in the coming weeks? it is perfectly comfortable. this has nothing to do with fraud, donald trump's sabotage of the united states postal office is to try to be justly turn it in a selection. it is trying to keep him in the white house —— reducer turnout in the election. he needs to keep a republican senator and trying to cut the margin is maps of places that post office boxes and counting machines have been removed from the include places like montana, a republican senate seat that democrats have a great chance of winning because of donald trump stays in the white house, he likely will be impeached again. he needs a senate that will keep him there, just like they did last time. in the blue states like here in massachusetts, where they are taking box out in a bus elsewhere, that is about reducing emergence possible look at how many machines and boxes they took at a new york state, when out of the day, out of the blue,

donald trump says that he has a shot of winning new york, if he takes all lovely meal out, the margin comes out. he will be able to say that he was able to stay in the white house because of the silent majority, this is about rigging the election and nothing else —— if he takes all of the mail out. democrats have tended to vote more than help, but republicans use the service in rural areas, they get their prescriptions and packages to the us postal services. other not republicans in the present to make seen, please do not discredit the postal service because actually our voters need that postal service and may need a vote by mail, some of them too. indeed. if you look at utah, colorado, a number of states around out colorado, a number of states around our country, you have republicans and democrats both that are using the postal service to vote. this is a manufactured political issue and i

do not believe the president is trying to rig the election and suppress turnout, the postal service has enough money it is an independent agency and they have enough money for the end of 2021 and one of the coronavirus bill that was passed, they had $10 billion more of a lending authority. this is an issue that i think that speaker pelosi is going to regret bringing up pelosi is going to regret bringing up because if you have enough money to fund the postal service for the next several years, you have the capacity for all those folks who wa nt capacity for all those folks who want to vote by mail to do so and that this is about politics. again, politics is rough, but to bring the house of representatives back not to deal with coronavirus, but a post office, i think it's a sort of makes you question their political motivations behind this. just to clarify one thing very odd inches, what is the ruling on these mail—in ballots, do they have to be stamped before election day, but picked could be counted after election day, which we could have —— it means we

could have a delayed result? just clarify that for us. it has a state— by—state basis or clarify that for us. it has a state—by—state basis or in some states you have to have it postmarked by the election and in others it has to be in any election syste m others it has to be in any election system so that is why many places are going to drop boxes. remember, if we all expect the selection, because so many people are going to vote by mail, to go on well beyond november the 3rd. it could be weeks, possibly longer, thanksgiving, her nose. during that time, sowing the seed of doubt and discord, donald trump is doing that very effectively now and that is the real problem here. this ok. now and that is the real problem here. this 0k. forgive me while i'm ahead on the table with the prospect of the selection going on for weeks after november the 3rd. great to have you back. just the on bbc news. she sat at the top of the table in the end, so better than to talk

foreign policy with than ambassador samantha power , we'll hear from her, next. all the uk nations have now made u—turns over a level results — our correspondents chris page and tomos morgan explain what the picture is like for northern irelan and wales. at exactly the same time as the westminster government was announcing its move, mrweir westminster government was announcing its move, mr weir gave a news co nfe re nce to announcing its move, mr weir gave a news conference to say that in northern ireland, teachers estimates, the predicted grades, will be awarded to pupils where they are higher than the grades which we re are higher than the grades which were awarded last week. whenever a level results were issued by the exams authority. 42% of level results were issued by the exams authority. 4296 of a-level students had their grade lowered by the watchdog here in wales. and there was huge criticism by opposition parties. following that decision that 42% are lowered, the welsh education minister had made a pledge that no student would get a grade lower than what they received an as—level master and the welsh government maintained that was the correct decision. they have told me

that that was a robust and credible decision that was —— more credible decision that was —— more credible decision that was made by devolved governments across the uk. you're watching bbc news. no—one pretended it would be easy finding a solution to cancelled school exams, in the age of covid—19. but were we grading the performance of the governments here in the uk, they would all be getting a d today. the english, welsh and northern ireland governments have all bowed to pressure and ditched the results students were given last week they'll now get the exam results their teachers had predicted. and that's because an algorithm that had been created to supposedly make it fairer, across the board, had led to 40% of results being downgraded. schools in disadvantaged areas were particularly affected. scotland also switched to teacher assessments last week after a similar outcry. let's head over to westminster and speak to the bbc‘s nick eardley.

what happens to students have already been turned down by the university of choice because their grades commit lower than the expected? it has a really good question. that is not actually a definitive answer yet. what the government is hoping is that universities will show flexibility in this and if a pupil did universities will show flexibility in this and ifa pupil did not universities will show flexibility in this and if a pupil did not get the grades they needed to get into that university last thursday under the old system now, but did get the grades under their teacher recommended levels, then universities should let them in and make a place. it is not completely clear that they are all going to do that. there is some... universities make that decision themselves so there is potentially some wrangling to come over that, over the next few days. who carries the can for this? a great question. at the moment,

nobody. i think there is a lot of anger that has been spread out. some of it is against the politicians who did not see this coming, some of it is against quual, which is the body which oversees exams in england. some people are convinced that they could have done a lot better too. i have to say, that is a real feeling that this was coming, people could have seen it coming. there have been tory mps who have been warning about this for months, the uk government could have seen what happened in scotland last week and perhaps made a decision a lot earlier instead it has waited several days. the education secretary gavin williamson only saying that he found out at the weekend the extent of the problems. some are really questioning whether he was asking the right questions at the right time and whether enough pressure was put on quual on this issue. that said, i do not get the impression that there are many conservatives we re impression that there are many conservatives were out gunning for his blood tonight. i think he

probably survives in the short term at least. not least because that is still that massive a show trying to get schools back in england next month. there is that hot potato pulled up knitterrdly, thank you very much. —— nick eardly, thank you very much. —— nick eardly, thank you very much. it's no secret that america's traditional allies have struggled with the trump presidency which may be why there is so much interest around the world in this election. so what would change in us foreign policy ifjoe biden wins the white house. joining us from concord, massachusetts is samantha power, the former us ambassador to the united nations under president obama. she's just published a book, the education of an idealist. thank you forjoining us, people are obsessed with their selection in europe and keep asking what will happen and want to know what will happen and want to know what will happen in terms of america's relations with foreign allies ifjoe bidenbodenbiden wins. what changes if he wins in november question make

one distinguishing feature of his of leadership is it takes two to tango so leadership is it takes two to tango so it is not the case that i can say right here that joe so it is not the case that i can say right here thatjoe biden himself can see this is how things are going to be because we recognise that her friends are going to have a say on that. there will be a lot of mistrust not so much injoe biden because the relationships are long—standing, he has already become personally close to many european leaders, but more a mistrust of america's voters and a fear that having put trump an office once, evenif having put trump an office once, even if i do whence, that we might come together and do something similar in future are so concerned that if we do another agreement to advance our paris climate commitments, for example, or if we get iran back to the table on the nuclear deal, what will that mean four years hence. we americans are going to have two, any serving any new ministration if we are fortunate enough to have one, will have to meet people where they are

underdressed that mistrust. one of the big areas from where the world one of the big changes has been that china has a similar power around the world and how would i biden bread deal with a newly empowered china? —— a biden presidency. deal with a newly empowered china? -- a biden presidency. a trump presidency has been a gift to china and has helped accelerate trainer's rise which was already under way. china likes it when countries stay away from the topic of human rights, given that they are detaining more than1 million given that they are detaining more than 1 million minorities given that they are detaining more than1 million minorities and crackdown in hong kong in many ways and trump is not interested in human rights or has even encouraged the building of human rights —— concentration camps in china. china does not like the closeness of relationships we have with the need to under european friends. it also

does not like the credible relations we have had with the republic of korea and with japan. there alliances have never been more tattered sense of the second world war because of trump so biden will come along and, as we talked about before, seek to restore those alliances and deepen them. recognising that now there is certainly —— there are certainly not nice had, they need to have when china has the economic leverage it does. i think you will see an investment in alliances, a return to values and to the promotion of human rights, and a mechanism that we democracies have to stick together. there is a competition along two models now in their old in authoritarian capitalist model that has done well economically, that after trying to cover up the coronavirus pandemic, is striding throughout international institutions. the very institutions that trump is located so biden would

also us to the bodies from which we have withdrawn, recognising that we have withdrawn, recognising that we have just allowed china to have open season and to enhance its leverage in those bodies by the kitting. that is an interesting point, samantha, open season is an interesting point, samantha, open season does not —— by vacate in. can ijust show open season does not —— by vacate in. can i just show the viewer is a tweet by the editor of the global times who really speaks for the communist party. that speaks of the aggression which we re that speaks of the aggression which were just talking about. they have gone more aggressive since recent times of hong kong. how would a biden presidency reign that aggression? well, as you say, the so—called wealth what your diplomacy, the use of rhetoric like that, but also they stepped up militarism, the investments in the

chinese military, the increasing confrontations in the south china sea, on the indian border, and in, it really is china that is coming out any much more coercive way than the president at the outset said was his intention. i think the key is that the united states power comes from its domestic model, democratic model which does not look so good right now as we lead the world and covid deaths, but it comes in this network of alliances. china does not, for my time at the un, i know, does not like to be isolated alone. any china — india relationship is much more tense and frail than it has been in many years. if the united states can come in, win back trust, which is going to be a big ask, again, of ourfriends trust, which is going to be a big ask, again, of our friends have had ask, again, of our friends have had a really rough trade over the last four years, pool our resources, coordinate our policy responses, i think that is a united front that we need to show to china. instead what

we have had for the last four years as more insults, heaped on her closest friends, then standing up and even competing with china in this range of domains. ok. ambassador samantha power, thank you very much forjoining us. sorry that we are not all in milwaukee together at the democratic convention. these are those times. interesting to see that the government that could be interested in a transition of power could paradoxically be the uk. they think that the trump administration may be able to give the uk a more favourable trade deal than any bad demonstration. but whatever the white house says about the trade deal has to be agreed and rubber—stamped by congress and so there is a strong irish lobby in congress, which we have talked about before. it may not change that much was at let's face it, when biden comes to power, when he is sworn in,

brexit might be complete so there may be a different attitude from joe biden to the attitude he was having with obama. stay with us, more to come, lots more. hello. yet again, we've seen dramatic thunderstorms breaking out across england and wales. more flash flooding, 40 mm of rain falling in some parts of the south—east and midlands in around an hour. that's close to a months' worth. dramatic scenes coming in from our weather watchers. this swirl of cloud is the area of low pressure that's producing all of the instability, if you like, in our atmosphere. towards the west, a more defined curl that brought some rain into northern ireland earlier on. that will push into wales and the north—west of england through the course of the night. the thunderstorms will thin out now as the hours go by though still some showers i think persisting to the far north of northern england, then stretching into southern scotland. and then by the end of the night, it looks like we could see a cluster

starting to move into the channel heading into the south west of england and then working the way along the south coast across the bristol channel into wales through the morning. again, across england and wales thunderstorms possible just about anywhere on tuesday. perhaps a little fewer and further between but no less intense and for scotland, a greater risk of thunderstorms pushing their way north. we could see some flash flooding here. wednesday, we turn to the atlantic and a more organised band of rain coming in. for england and wales, that means a very wet story midweek. it also means our winds becoming much stronger than they've been in a time. and in fact, we're going to be stuck with fairly keen winds then for the rest of the week. now, with all of the rain that's fallen already, more to come on wednesday. the ground is pretty soggy. factor in strong winds which could cost up to 35—40 mph in exposure, that could loosen a few trees and again cause some damage and disruption. wet for northern ireland by the afternoon as well. scotland on the whole

i think managing to stay dry until after dark. for thursday, a little bit of a gap in our weather front. so, a drier, brighter interlude. friday, the centre of the low closing in on us. tightly packed isoba rs, this is more like something we'd expect to see in autumn. producing quite widespread gales and winds in exposure around the coasts particularly strong. even inland, we're looking at gusts around 30 mph but for western coasts, we could well be talking 45, even 50 mph. so, there will be some pretty choppy seas as well around the coast particularly to the west and south of the uk, and a reminder of those strong winds.

this is bbc news — i'm katty kay in washington, christian fraser in londonour top stories. no crowds, no fanfare and no razzamatazz. the democratic national convention kicks off online in the next few hours. former us ambassador to the un samantha power tells us thatjoe biden will seek to restore international alliances. china does not like america's vast network of alliances and the closeness of its relationship that we have with our european friends. also on the programme. in belarus, more protests and strikes against its president of 26 years after his disputed re—election. and north korea is reportedly rounding up its pet pooches for restaurant meat, amid food shortages. just don't tell my dog charlie that.

in belarus, the president has talked of a possible transition of power but has ruled out holding new elections immediately. alexander lu kashenko, is facing the largest—ever protests in his 26 year presidency. he was frequently heckled and booed as he told factory workers that his team was working on constitutional changes to be put to a referendum. our correspondentjonah fisher has the latest. car horns honking. this was the day the workers turned on alexander lukashenko. thousands downing tools and marching to a tractor factory. while the strikers rallied outside, belarus' beleaguered president arrived by helicopter to address

those who had stayed at work. he was no doubt hoping for a friendly crowd. jeering. what he got was a public relations disaster. chanting outside the plant, the striking workers were visited by the only opposition leader who hasn't been arrested or fled the country. translation: for 26 years, the authorities have humiliated us. thank you for not being afraid. we are not the little people, we are the nation. cheering are you worried about your own safety? no, i'm not worried, i feel very safe here with my people in belarus.

what's your message to the international community as they watch what is happening here? we are very thankful for the support of belarus and, please, only with love and dialogue, we can change our lives and our country. the momentum is certainly with the protesters. who seem to grow in confidence with every passing day. it's very hard to see any way back from this, politically, for the president. the last few days have shown that belarussians are willing to take to the streets and to stand up against him. that surely can't be reversed. the big question now is more when and how he goes and whether it happens peacefully. let's speak now to dr emma as hford, research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the cato institute. she's in washington dc. thank you very much forjoining us.

they are making the point that the expectation in belarus is that their president will go, how vulnerable do you think he is now? i think he is vulnerable to demands for change and i think over the past couple of days, we have seen him increasingly suggesting publicly, that he will make constitutional changes hold new elections, but he does not simply suggesting going but until he was the support of the army and police, i think it is an open question as to whether or not he can actually go. lot of people make similarities to the ukraine, is similar to that? lot of people make similarities to the ukraine, is similar to that7m really isn't, there's the assumption that this is the same thing that happened in ukraine in 2014. but belarus is been very close to russia

for a number of years and lukashenko himself is been reaching out to european union and they been happy with this development in the opposition is not actually hostile to moscow, they do not want to join the eu, so when you put all of that together, this is not aligned with the west opposition story. together, this is not aligned with the west opposition storylj together, this is not aligned with the west opposition story. i know that some of them actually fled to moscow, so, where's position politically? in belarus, there's a wide range, but the most central candidates are basically calling for internal domestic changes, they want to see a more democratic system of government, they went for a better economy they want to see better response to coronavirus which is been a big issue, but they do not necessarily want to see a foreign—policy pivot away from russia, so they may be to trading with europe but they're not keen to

align politically. we heard lukashenko being open to some kind of transition but not to new elections immediately. by transition, if it is not at the ballot box? it is anybody's guess, but if i were to speculate, i would say that he's probably talking about some kind of constitutional reform or the promise some of the reforms that they demanded, such as the reform that no one can be president for more than two consecutive terms, so something like that, like he will step down at the end of his next term or there will be new elections ina yearand term or there will be new elections in a year and pressing opposition and protest will accept that. quite the amazing thing today was that the

anchors in the television walked out because they wanted to speak the truth about the election and the people who have been detained as well. yes, he is losing power quickly. as the democrats convene over zoom and tv this week — donald trump's campaign has announced the president will be travelling to four battle ground states in as many days. today, mr trump has already made speeches before crowds in minnesota and wisconsin. tomorrow, he visits arizona, and then on thursday — the final and biggest day of the democrat convention — he'll be speaking in pennsylvania less than ten miles from scranton — joe biden's hometown. speaking this afternoon at an airport in wisconsin president trump escalated his attacks onjoe biden and the democrats, accusing the rival party of fascism. joe biden is the puppet of left—wing extremists trying to erase our borders, eliminate our police, indoctrinate our children, vilify our heroes. we are going left—wing all the way. they are fascists, some

of them, not all of them, but some of them, not all of them, but some of them, not all of them, but some of them but they're getting closer and closer, we have to win this election. let's head to president trump's 2020 campaign headquarters in virginia and speak to his senior advisor for strategy, steve cortes. going into this national convention, the republicans have theirs but the polls are not looking good for president trump. how is the mood in the campaign at the moment? the mood here is a beating terrific. polls are something that we pay close attention to, but they're not the guiding light. they are not the northstar of the campaign, nor are they for the white house when it comes to policy. but the public polling. that is what campaign site when there behind the polls another head. hold on, but lately, the polls, if you look at polling averages, i the real politics is the

indication that a consistent titan over the last few weeks, they still show us down, but with a much reduced margin forjoe biden. i am very confident the public at matter. we look at the battle ground states, we are in the margin of error from st everyone of them and we are up and some of the states and received polls show us when in north carolina, but i'm not focused on those polls, i am focused on november three and i'm come the one pole that really matters. the single biggest issue for his reelection is probably going to be the coronavirus and his handling of the coronavirus. what does he up to do between that, what would you like them to do between now and november the 3rd to turn around the country situation when it comes to this pandemic? sure. i think the first thing we have to do is be truthful about the situation the united states relative

to the rest of the world because the democrats and the allies incorporate media consistently tried to sell a false narrative that the united states is in some uniquely bad position regarding the coronavirus but the reality is very different. we have seen a surge of infections throughout the world. a search of new cases, we cannot necessarily control that this my complete control that this my complete control that, but we can control is how we deal with it. with therapeutics and how we deal with those who do become seriously ill and thankfully on those scores come on those measures, the numbers are trending traumatically downwards but they are trending towards health and will see a lot of progress —— dramatically. on a per capita basis, the united states is doing far better than some of our pure industrial countries like the uk, sweden, belgium, were doing about the same as france, were not doing quite as well as japan and switzerland. but from here to

november three, i think the country will continue to be diligent, the president will continue to provide the leadership needed in the biggest thing that he can do now is operation warp speed and get us to a vaccine as quickly as possible. talking about leadership, that comes to competency and i we have is the covid—19 crisis in the economy. tonight, republicans against constructive put out an attack at which features miles taylor, former chief of staff at the department from that security. have a look at this. he knew that he had magical authorities, he was one of the most unfocused and undisciplined senior executives i have ever encountered. i was completely convinced on first—hand i was completely convinced on first— hand experience of i was completely convinced on first—hand experience of the president was ill—equipped it would not become equipped to do hisjob effectively what was worse was actively doing damage to our security. that is right from the heart of someone who served in the administration and it is not unique. i have are that a number of times from people who have left the

administration. look, iwas of things. i have never heard of this person. i never knew he was. he is the former chief of staff. even with in the executive branch, it is clear that there are a lot of people who belong to the permanent political class, the administrative state of washington, dc and their loyalty was there, their loyalty was to the ball, rather than the america first agenda but we got in 2016 was that river presented a clear and present danger to that crony political class in washington, dc and we continued to consistently dismantle the power of the administration state and has been left with them a lot of opposition, even the people who held positions within the administration. a thousand deaths a day within three weeks, should people be able to mail in their ballots ahead of november

the 3rd or do they have to go to the polling station because president trump is going to undermine the us postal service? they certainly do not have to go to the polling station, president trump is been very consistent on that, we've had a campaign but that is well. this is a very important distinction. he believed the absentee ballot, roberta says that forever reason, they cannot get to the poster do not wish to be on the polls, the request an absentee ballot that is sent to them, they send it back and its verified. to maintain the sanctity of the vote in the sanctity of the ballot process, but we firmly oppose is the idea in the practice, u nfortu nately is the idea in the practice, unfortunately in a few states, for there is literally a mass mailing to every person who was on the voter roll, a life ballot. and what we know from experience for example in nevada, the service reported in the las vegas reviewjournal. their were over a million live ballots in the 200,000 of them were returned because they were not deliverable. the voter rolls were not correct.

people moved, people died. we are all for voting by mail and corporate media is trying to create this narrative fear that is simply false stubble we are not for is universal vote by mail. ok, reporting from the donald trump headquarters in virginia. still to come. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we'll find out what young democrats make of their presidential candidate — the oldest man to run for the job. in a huge policy reversal, a level and gcse results in england and wales will now be based on teacher assessments — rather than grades generated by computer analysis. our education editor branwenjeffreys has more. i was predicted and as in dose to a's. to go to uni. we have to work extra hard for where we are and

still haven't gotten anything out of it. and obviously, my grades are still very good. but i still miss out on some of the opportunities. we should just be trusting the teachers. it has been five agonising days since the results and now, when competence already lost, with unique place is gone for some and a regulator and finally an apology. we have recognised the difficulty that young people have faced with the receipt of trades that they are able to understand the basis of which they have been awarded and we apologise. universities have closed some courses, they have been told not to offer to too many, now the limit on places is lifted. incredibly sorry for all of the students who have been through this and removing the scabs in every

single university in the united kingdom and so that they have the ability to expand the number of places. this problem has been there for months and the government hasn't sorted it out. they kept the wrong decision last week and refuse to change its mind into today and i was a huge amount of unraveling that's got to be done. i do not underestimate the distress and anger that this cost hundreds of young people who have seen their futures scrambled all over the place over the past week. facing a dilemma, faced the decision they made a renewed the battle for their first choice. you're watching bbc news. when christian and i travelled in february to the iowa caucuses — which does feel like an age ago — the democratic party still had 11 presidential candidates. now it s down to the presumptive nominee, joe biden. but is he the right person? we have been speaking to young democrats,

millennials and generation z voters — who make up a third of the us electorate. what do they make of a man, who would be sworn in at the age of 78, becoming the oldest president ever. take a look. joe biden is... the best option that we have. an incredible american. really are only option of restoring. empathetic. essential to save our democracy. joe biden is a moderate continuation of the status quo. the last resort, but he is not a horrible last resort. in the united states, young people under the age of 35 make up a third of the country's electorate. this demographic turned out to vote in record numbers in the 2018 midterms, nearly doubling the young voters who went to the polls in 2014. we do not know if they'll be the case and the 2020 general election, but we do

know that young people are likely to lea n know that young people are likely to lean democrat. hi, how are you? so democratic voters all across the country will ask what they think of their party's nominee. he was not their party's nominee. he was not the favourite for a lot of younger people, joe biden was not my number one. i do not think he has that certain janessa one. i do not think he has that certainjanessa qua one. i do not think he has that certain janessa qua that one. i do not think he has that certainjanessa qua that i would wa nt certainjanessa qua that i would want ina certainjanessa qua that i would want in a president. he has done something that i did not expect, he has reached out to more liberal wing of the democratic party and broaden staffers other campaigns to advise them on climate policies. if joe biden is selected, what do you want of his presidency was green that is a really good question. of his presidency was green that is a really good questionlj of his presidency was green that is a really good question. i think you should arrest donald trump, but i do not think there would be possible. going back to the paris climate agreement. region and the world

health organisation. overturned the muslim band that affects people like me. investment in the black community. is so competent for the african—american vote, there needs to be able to provide for african—american people. to be able to provide for african-american people. what is next on health care than many of us are going to lose her health insurance since the age of being on our parents insurance. joe biden will be able to get us back to a point where not everything is horrible. i want this to turn that's being caused by this current administration ended. he wants to help people which is more than we can be saved about our current president. now, as election day approaches we've chosen six key swing states — the way they vote will likely decide who ends up in the white house in november. and we've picked local journalists and radio hosts in each of them who we'll be speaking to in turn each week. it's time for our new series:

battleground voices. and this week we're in wisconsin. we should be in wisconsin anyway, given that milwaukee was supposed to be hosting all of this democratic convention. let's speak now tojessie opoien, opinion editor at the capital times in madison. isa is a bit like those barbecues where it rains. is itjust really flat? thank you so much for having me and that's a perfect description the weather is gorgeous, which is a bit of salt in the wound at this point, it would've been a great week to have everyone from around the country around the world and checking out the rest of wisconsin instead of a bunch of people soon

begin escaping and digitally. instead of a bunch of people soon begin escaping and digitallym 2024, fingers crossed. donald trump is in wisconsin and hillary clinton when she lost in 2016, she got a lot of criticism for not going again and here's the president you know she's going to hammer wisconsin all the way up to election day and joe biden, who is not going there at all, is in his bunker and they are not going to risk people in wisconsin, side to the voter see that. do they feel abandoned by the democrats do they think the democrats do they think the democrats are playing it safe? democrats do they think the democrats are playing it safe ?|j think for now, democrats are pretty pleased with the response and obviously, they would love to have, heresy or, but the pandemic is not under control here and is not under control elsewhere throughout the country and i think that democratic

voters see this is the smart move and they're voters see this is the smart move and they‘ re not voters see this is the smart move and they're not impressive donald trump, mike pence, trump coming here this week holding rallies in person or sing masks are suggested to require them, that is not playing those democrats right now and so if you're not looking to attract less inverters, you're probably ok, but the pandemic continues to improve here and we do not see any travel here, there might be another story. we have the pictures of, let harris and the vice president picks, perhaps sarah palin did, she did not helpjohn mccain, perhaps sarah palin did, she did not help john mccain, but perhaps sarah palin did, she did not helpjohn mccain, but somewhere like milwaukee because in doesn't16, african—american voters in milwaukee did not turn out in the numbers that hillary clinton needed and that helped donald trump when the state. can she help with somewhere like milwaukee for the democratic parties with african—american voters.

milwaukee for the democratic parties with african-american voters. a vice president candidate probably does not do a lot of boosting and if anything, they can do more damage than positivity. i do think that there is an opportunity for kamala harris, does not energised by the clinton campaign and there have been a lot of efforts to remedy that and that followed and there's a lot of good grassroots going on there. so, if kamala harris conveys no and meet with the people have been doing the work on the ground these last few years that i think she has a real opportunity there. november three, which would you think wisconsin is going to go, republican or democrat? i'm going to say right now, looking at the numbers, would go with democrat. we will hold you to it. thank you very much. will be back. thank you very much.

christian, i don't know about you, but my dog, charlie helped me through this lockdown. some much needed company in the basement studio. so spare a thought for pet owners in north korea, who may be forced to give up their dogs —— to solve the nation's food shortages. yes, it's as bad as its sounds, taking pooches, to use as food for the hungry masses. this is according to — south korea's chosun ilbo newspaper. apparently — kimjong un thinks pet ownership is a "trend tainted by bourgeoisie ideology." so they are rounding ‘em up. now i don't have a dog. but i do have a rabbit, who is firmly in the dog house. this is betty who is digging up the second lawn i have in as many years. i can't stop her. but as i was filling in another hole this morning, i thought yes maybe there has been too much bourgeoisie in our house. i am putting betty on notice!! another hole and i am

sending her to n korea. you're going to get so much hatred from rabbit owners! hello. plenty of going on in our weather for the week ahead. we started dramatically in some parts of the uk on monday with widespread thunderstorms across the southeast, these are the scenes from london just after lunchtime up thunderstorms for some heavier ones pushed across the midlands and thundershowers in wet weather from wales, and bringing that unsettled weather swirling its way northward switch is being moved through the night, ran across north wells in the northwest of england pushing into scotla nd northwest of england pushing into scotland and thundershowers dating into the small hours overnight lows of 13 or 50 degrees but still on the warm side, still pretty humid. for

tuesday, the low centre continues to slowly ad rift tuesday, the low centre continues to slowly adrift northwards and we should see the skies clearing of the day pans out in some heavier showers for a time day pans out in some heavier showers fora time and day pans out in some heavier showers for a time and somewhat weather in southern scotland pushing up towards the highlands. some intense showers here and some high rain for shortage of time, hard to pick up from a distance, the showers across england and wales but we will see some development on tuesday and intense local thunder downpours. wednesday is more clear cut, an area of low pressure pushing towards the southwest of the uk and will bring some fairly persistent rain and also stood to pick up some wins and for the remainder of the week, it is a pretty windy story. gusts of wind and exposure, 35 to 40 mph in the rain that we have seen in some more to come could lose a few trees and may be some damage and some disruption in rank to be in the afternoon, scott lynch remained relatively fine on wednesday. the

low pressure will be a part —— scotland. in towards the centre, sta rts scotland. in towards the centre, starts to come into play for thursday and friday, bit of a gap in the weather fronts on thursday, but find mother to start the day but will be blustery and come the afternoon, it look like showers will cloud into the west. and on thursday the 25 degrees in the southeast of england. friday will see the low pressure centre getting closer and starting to push and another with a friend, so what are weather moving across the uk on friday, but the winds, at the end of the week because we could see gusts from the west coast, 45, 50 mph and there will be some choppy seas and the west and we will see the damage and disruption. temperature is still getting up to 20 through 24 with some sunshine in the east. our next change is for the weekend. we move away from south—westerly winds in the northwesterly winds is that low

pulls away, or being pulled from the southwest across the atlantic to air essentially further north and the overall effect is going to leave things feeling cooler and fresher, low pressure to the north of the uk and some showers are scotland and northern ireland to the weekend into the south of england and wales, i think there will be quite a bit of fine weather, but it willjust be a cooler story with temperatures around 19 or 20 at best. as for the following week, pressures on the south of the uk to start the week, should be a fine story for many, still somewhat cooler for those northwesterly winds across scotland, later in the week with some signs of low pressure will start to approach the atlantic and will begin to turn u nsettled. the atlantic and will begin to turn unsettled. but for now, it is the thundershowers that our primary concern.

tonight at ten — a major u—turn on a—level and gcse results. pupils across the uk will now get the grade given them by their school or college. it comes after protests and anger over tens of thousands of a—level students who had those grades lowered by the exams watchdog. it apologised, so did the government. where there is quite obviously injustices, and we have seen that in the system, we have to act, and that is why we have had to make the decision that we have done. for many young people, who've had days of uncertainty and anxiety, it's a huge relief. i didn't get into my first choice university and it's been very stressful, yeah. so the news today has been great

and it has relieved a lot