the national hurricane center new using the strongest terms possible in its warnings. it predicts an "extremely dangerous" category 4 hurricane, "unsurvivable" storm surge, large and destructive waves and water levels 10—15 feet above ground level. the storm surge could go as far as 30 miles inland from the coast. this region hasn't seen a hurricane this dangerous since rita in 2005. laura's shaping up to look a lot like rita did 15 years ago in terms of its forecasted intensity and the forecasted spot where it will make landfall in south—west louisiana. and again, we don't say that to scare anybody, but that point of reference sometimes helps in order to make sure people understand the seriousness of the situation. boston! is that you? galveston beach in texas among areas getting cleared out. it is beautiful most times of the year, but hurricane season worries even

lifelong residents. the north—west gulf coast has handled many disasters like this, but evacuation and temporary accommodation has been complicated by the coronavirus outbreak that has hit the american south hard. covid—19 is going to be in texas throughout the course of the hurricane. as a result, everyone must ensure that they protect their lives also from contracting covid—19. as hurricane laura drives people out of their homes, authorities have to figure out how to shelter them from a deadly storm and a deadly virus. larry madowo, bbc news, dallas. let's head back now to the republican national convention. we expect mike hence to speak shortly. 0ur correspondent is still there in washington. jane, about 70 days until the election. night three of the convention. whatjob does mike hence have to do tonight. what

hence have to do tonight. what he has always done, to be the cheerleader for donald trump, the person who often has to explain some of his remarks and some of his tweets but also there always there, always in there always there, always in the background and reinforcing the background and reinforcing the message. that message tonight is that the president has performed well on the economy, he is the president who will uphold law and order and we also expect him to make some kind of reference to the violence in wisconsin and the tragic events there. we can now go to him so let's have a listen and see what he is actually saying. please welcome the vice president of the united states, mike hence! accompanied either second lady, mrs karen p. —— pence.

stirring music plays applause cheering four more years! four more years! four more years! four four more years! four more years! good evening, america. it is an honour to speak to you tonight. from the hallowed

grounds of fort mckenna. the site of the very battle that inspired the words of our national land some. those words have inspired land of heroes in every generation since. it was on this site, 206 years ago, when our young republic heroically withstood a ferocious naval bombardment from the most powerful empire on earth. they came to crush our revolution. to divide our nation. and to end the american experiment. the heroes who held this fort took their stand for life, liberty, freedom and the american flag. and those ideals have defined our nation. but they were hardly ever mentioned at last week's democratic national convention. instead,

democrats spent four days attacking america. joe biden said that we were living through a season of darkness. but as president trump said, where joe but as president trump said, wherejoe biden sees american darkness, we see american greatness. in these challenging times, our country needs a president who believes in america, who believes in the boundless capacity of the american people to meet any challenge, defeat any photo and defend the freedoms we hold dear. america needs four more yea rs of dear. america needs four more years of president donald trump in the white house. before i go further, allow me to say a word

to the families and communities in the path of hurricane's. 0ur prayers are with you and our administration is working closely with authorities in this state that will be impacted. supplies have been mobilised by fema. this is a serious storm and we urge those in affected areas to heat authorities, stay safe and know that we will be with you every step of the way to support, rescue, respond and recover in the days and weeks ahead. that is what americans do. four yea rs is what americans do. four years ago i answered the call tojoin this ticket. years ago i answered the call to join this ticket. because i knew that donald trump had the leadership and the vision to make america great again. and for the last four years i have

watched this president into your unrelenting attacks but get up every day and fight to keep the promises he made to the american people. so with gratitude for the confidence that president donald trump has placed in me, the support of our republican party and the grace of god, i humbly accept your nomination to run and serve as vice president of the united states. cheering and applause four more years serving the

american people in this office has been a journey i never expected, a journey that would not have been possible without the support of my family. beginning with my wonderful wife, karen. she is a lifelong school teacher and an incredible mother to our three children. and she is one outstanding second lady of the united states. i am so proud of you. and we could not be more proud of our three children. marine corps captain michaelj hence and his wife, sarah. 0ur daughter, charlotte pence bond, an author and wife to lou tennant henry bond who is currently deployed and serving our nation in the united states

navy. and our youngest, a recent law school graduate. my daughter audrey and her fiance who, like so many other americans, had to delay their wedding this summer. and we cannot wait for daniel to be a pa rt cannot wait for daniel to be a part of our family. cannot wait for daniel to be a part of ourfamily. in addition, my wife and kids, the person who shaped my life the most is also with us tonight. my most is also with us tonight. my mother, nancy. she is the daughter of an irish immigrant, 87 years young and she follows politics very closely. and truth be told, sometimes i think i am actually her second

favourite candidate on this ticket. thank you, mom, i love you. 0ver ticket. thank you, mom, i love you. over the past four years i have had the privilege to work closely with our president. i have seen him when the cameras are off. americans see president trump in lots of different ways. but there is no doubt how president trump sees america. he sees america for what it is. a nation that has done more good in this world than any other. a nation that has deserved far more gratitude than grievance. and if you want a president who falls silent when our heritage is demeaned or insulted, he is not your man. now we came by very

different routs to this partnership and some people think we are a little bit different to. but you know, i have learned a few things watching. watching him deal with all that we have been through over the last four yea rs. through over the last four years. he does things in his own way, on his own terms. not much that's passed him. and when he has an opinion, he is liable to share it. he has certainly kept things interesting but, more importantly, president donald trump has kept his word to the american people. in a city known for talkers, president trump isa known for talkers, president trump is a doer. and few presidents have brought more independence, energy or determination to that office.

four years ago we inherited a military hollowed out a devastating budget cut and and in condamine struggling to break out of the slowest recovery since the great depression. isis controlled a landmass twice the size of pennsylvania and we witnessed a steady assault on our most cherished values, freedom of religion and the right to life. that is when president donald trump stepped in. and from day one he kept his word. we rebuilt our military. this president signed the largest increase in our national defence since the days of ronald reagan and created the first new branch of our armed forces in 70 years, the united states s pa ce forces in 70 years, the united states space force. and with

that renewed energy we also returned american astronauts to space on an american rocket for the first time in nearly ten yea rs. the first time in nearly ten years. and after years of scandal that robbed our vetera ns scandal that robbed our veterans of the care that you earned in the uniform of the united states, president trump kept his word again. we reformed the va and veteran's choice is now available for every vetera n choice is now available for every veteran in america. our armed forces and our veterans, still this land of heroes, and manyjoin us still this land of heroes, and many join us tonight. still this land of heroes, and manyjoin us tonight. tonight we have among us four recipients of the middle of honour. six recipients of the purple heart. a goldstar

mother. of a gallant navy seal. and wounded warriors from soldier strong, a group that serves our injured veterans every day. we are honoured by your presence and we thank you for your service. applause with heroes just like these we defend this nation every day. and under this commander—in—chief, we have taken the fight to radical islamic terrorists on our

terms, on their soil. islamic terrorists on our terms, on theirsoil. last year, american forces the glass pinch of isis territory, priced their caliphate and took down their caliphate and took down their leader without one american casualty. and i was there when president trump gave there when president trump gave the order to take out the world's most dangerous terrorist, isis‘s sub general will never harm another american because qasem soleimani is gone. my my fellow americans, you deserve to know, joe biden criticised president trump following those decisions, decisions to rid the world of two terrorist leaders. but it's not surprising. because history records thatjoe biden even oppose the operation that took down 0sama bin laden. it's no

wonder that the secretary of defence under the 0bama, biden administration once said that joe biden has been and i quote, wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades. so we have stood up four decades. so we have stood up to our enemies and we have stood with our allies, like when president trump kept his word and moved the american embassy to jerusalem, the capital of the state of israel. setting the stage for the first arab country to recognise israel in 26 years. closer to home, we have appointed more than 200 conservative judges to ourfederal than 200 conservative judges to our federal courts, supported the right to life and all the god given liberties in our including the second amendment

right to keep and bear arms. and when it came to the economy, president trump kept his word and then some. we passed the largest tax—cut and reform american history. we rolled back more federal red tape than any administration ever had. we unleashed american energy and fought for free and fair trade and energy and fought for free and fairtrade and in energy and fought for free and fair trade and in ourfirst three years, businesses large and small created more than 7 million good paying jobs, including 500,000 manufacturing jobs all across america. our country became a net exporter of energy for the first time in 70 years. unemployment rates for african americans and hispanic americans hit the lowest level ever recorded. and on this 100,000 anniversary of the women's right to vote, i am proud to report —— 100th, that under president donald trump,

we achieved the lowest unemployment rate for women in 65 years. and more americans working than ever before. in our first three years, we built the greatest economy in the world. we made america great again. and then at the coronavirus struck from china stop before the first case of coronavirus spread within the united states, the president took unprecedented action and suspended all travel from china, the second largest economy in the world. now that action saved untold american lives. and i can tell you firsthand it bought us invaluable time to launch the greatest national mobilisation since world war ii. president

trump marshaled the full resources of our federal government from the outset. he directed us to forge a seamless partnership with governors across america in both political parties. we partnered with private industry to reinvent testing and produce suppliers that were distributed to hospitals around the land. today, we are conducting more than 800,000 tests a day and we have coordinated the delivery of billions of pieces of personal protective equipment for our amazing doctors, nurses and healthcare workers. we saw to the manufacture of 100,000 ventilators in 100 days and no—one who required a ventilator was ever denied a ventilator was ever denied a ventilator in the united states. we build hospitals,

surged military medical personnel and enacted an economic rescue package to say 50 million american jobs. economic rescue package to say 50 million americanjobs. and as we speak, where developing a growing number of treatments known as therapeutics including convalescent plasma that are saving lives all across america. now last week, joe biden said, that no miracle is coming. well, whatjoe doesn't seem coming. well, whatjoe doesn't seem to understand is that america is a nation of miracles. and i am proud to report that we are on track to have the world's first, safe, effective coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year.

after a ll after all the sacrifice in this year like no other, and all of the hardship, we are finding our way forward again. but tonight our hardship with all the families who have lost loved ones. and have family members still struggling with serious illness. in this country, we mourn with those who grieve and mourn with those who grieve and mourn with those who grieve and in this night, i know that millions of americans will pause and pray for god's comfort for each of you. you know, our country doesn't get through such a time unless its people find strength within. the response of dock is, nurses, first responders, farmers, factory workers, truckers and everyday americans who put the health and safety

of their neighbours first has been nothing short of heroic. veronica put on her scrubs every day, day in and day out went to work in one of new york's busiest hospitals. she stayed on thejob, put in york's busiest hospitals. she stayed on the job, put in the long hours until it was done and then it got back in her neighbourhood and helped neighbours and friends struggling. her brother william isa struggling. her brother william is a new york city firefighter. and they are both emblematic of heroes all across this country. they are with us tonight and i say to them and to all of you, you have earned the admiration of the american people and we will always be grateful for

your service and care. applause thanks to the courage and compassion of the american people, we are slowing the spread, we are protecting the vulnerable and we are saving lives. and we are opening up america again. because of the strong foundation that president trump poured in our first three years, we have already gained back 9.3 million jobs in the last three months alone. and we not just and we notjust opening up america again, we are opening

up america again, we are opening up america's schools. and i'm proud to report my wife karen, that school teacher i've been married to, will be returning to her classroom next week and so to all of our heroic teachers and faculty and staff, thank you for being there for our kids, we're going to stay with you every step the way. in the days ahead as we open up america again, i promise you, we will continue to put the health of americans first. and as we work to bring this economy back, we all have a role to play. and we'll have a choice to make. 0n role to play. and we'll have a choice to make. on november three, you need to ask yourself, who do you trust to

rebuild this economy? a career politician who presided over the slowest economic recovery since the great depression or a proven leader who created the greatest economy in the world? the choice is clear. to bring america all the way back we need four more years of president donald trump in the white house. applause all chant: four more years. my fellow americans, we are passing through a time of testing and in the midst of this global pandemic, just as our nation had begun to recover, we have seen our nation had begun to recover, we have seen violence and chaos in the streets of our major cities. president trump andi major cities. president trump and i will always support the

right of americans to peaceful protest but rioting and looting is not peaceful protest. tearing down statues is not free speech and those who do so will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. applause last week, joe biden didn't say one word about the violence and chaos engulfing cities across this country, so let me be clear — the violence must stop, whether in minneapolis, portland, or kenosha, too many heroes have died defending our freedom to see american striking each other down. we will have law and order on the streets of this country for every american of every race and creed and colour. applause

president trump and i know that the men and women who put on the men and women who put on the uniform of law enforcement are the best of us. every day when they walk out that door, they consider our lives more important than their own. people like dave patrick underwood, an officer in the department of homeland security's federal protective service who was shot and killed during the riots in oakland, california. dave's heroism is emblematic of the heroes that serve in blue every day and we are privileged tonight to be

joined by his sister angela. angela, we say to you, we grieve with your family and america will never forgets or fail to honour officer dave patrick underwood. applause the american people know we don't have to choose between supporting law enforcement and standing with our african—american neighbours. to improve the quality of their lives. education, jobs, and safety. and from the first days of this administration, we have done both and we will keep supporting law enforcement and keep supporting our african—american and minority communities across this land forfour more years.

applause joe biden says that america is systemically racist and that law enforcement in america has andi law enforcement in america has and i quote, an implicit bias. against minorities. when asked whether he would support cutting funding to law enforcement, joe biden replied, yes, absolutely. joe biden would double down on the very policies that are leading to violence in america's cities. the hard truth is you won't be safe injoe the hard truth is you won't be safe in joe biden's the hard truth is you won't be safe injoe biden's america. and under president trump, we

will always stand with those who stand on the thin blue line and we are not going to defund the police, not now, not ever! applause if you have just joined if you havejustjoined us, live from fort mchenry in baltimore, this is the vice president of the united states speaking to the republican national convention. more to come and more analysis and breaking news. but soon we will come to a time for choosing. joe biden has referred to himself as a transition candidate and many were asking transition to what? last week democrats did not talk very much about their agenda. and if i were them i would not either. bernie sanders did tell his followers thatjoe biden would be the most liberal president in modern times,