this is bbc news. not much can change american voters minds about this election. but tonight's presidential debate does have the ability to swing the race. 100 million americans are expected to tune in to watch the drama of donald trump face to face withjoe biden. this is the scene live in cleveland, where in just a few hours‘ time, the two septuagenarians will lock horns and show audiences what they're made of. also in the programme... another grim milestone. the death toll from covid—19 now exceeds 1 million people, and rising. a fifth of those deaths were in the united states. and in the uk, confusion reigns. what chance for the rest of us, if the government can't explain, the covid rules we are expected to follow.

hello, i'm katty kay in washington, christian fraser is in london. watching two white men in their 70s might sound like a boring premise for a political debate, but when one of them is donald trump, the most unusual debater in us presidential history, and the other isjoe biden, who has his own history of gaffes, you can expect drama. there are not many moments left for either of these candidates to persuade undecided americans to vote for them. but the three presidential debates, with their huge national audiences, can have an impact, especially the first one. going into tonight's match up there's a clear dynamic. democrats want the election to be all about donald trump, and republicans want it to be a choice, trump or biden. laura trevelyan is in cleveland, ohio for us, where tonight's

debate is taking place. normally i would be there, christian would be there, the whole american political world would be there, but this is not a traditional american presidential debate tonight as it? not at all because of coronavirus there will only be 80 — 100 people in the hole behind me. not the usual 900. just imagine, each candidate can only bring 20 guests so how will that affect president trump who loves to riff off a crowd? of course the real audience is outside the hall and 84 million people watched that first debate in 2016 between donald trump and hillary clinton. as you said there could be 100 million watching tonight. polling suggests 1196 watching tonight. polling suggests ii% of watching tonight. polling suggests 11% of voters roughly are undecided. tonight at prime time they get to see the two candidates face off in

what should be an extraordinary debate. i am really boring about body language, i love nights like this. i want to see the opening exchange. i know there is no handshake but i am guessing joe biden will come in wearing a facemask. yes, no masks during the debate. if you had to bet, do you think the president will wear a mask as he gets on stage? they do not wear them during the debate, no chances unless the president wonders of his lecture and that we saw in 2016 when he got pretty close to hillary clinton so it will completely fascinating but we're getting a few clues from the guests both men are bringing for the topics they want to emphasise. joe biden is bringing a couple of guests to emphasise coronavirus. including a woman whose father died of covid—19. president trump had the grandmother who he pardoned for a non—violent

drug offence. so the lights are up, the big tent is here, there are a few hundred journalists here and we are ready to go. and there is laura so we are are ready to go. and there is laura so we are in good shape. thank you very much forjoining us. let's bring in someone who knows a thing or two about preparing for presidential debates. philippe reines played donald trump in hillary clinton's 2016 debate prep, and before that served as clinton's senior adviser while she was secretary of state. he joins us now from washington. it's great to have you on the programme. laura was just talking about body language and i want to show a little bit of video you have sent out yourself about the body language for when you played donald trump up against hillary clinton in one of your debate preps. let's show it. she walks on stage, comes up i guess planning to shake your hand and you as donald trump... do this.

and you go in for the hug and... laughter the secretary wanders away. i suspect we will not see that tonight or anything like that but what did it feel like to play donald trump? you know, it was a dark place to go, but as a couple of friends told me i had them preparing for it my whole life and i just had them preparing for it my whole life and ijust didn't realise it. that was a light—hearted moment, she had walked injust as that was a light—hearted moment, she had walked in just as we were having a conversation, her debate team bout what if trump tries to hug her? just ina kind what if trump tries to hug her? just in a kind of way to make it clear that he was taller than her or whatever it was and she said what are you laughing about? i said we are you laughing about? i said we are practising a hug and she said i'm not going to have him. i said i know you don't want to but he might try. she said i'm not hugging him. i said let's give it a try and that was the result. there was a joke in

the first debate, that was the first debate for the second debate she decided not to shake his hand and obviously during the infamous second debate he moved around her. you did a lot of prep and we won't see any of that tonight i guess, lurking around someone, of that tonight i guess, lurking around someone, you of that tonight i guess, lurking around someone, you bought podiums, an ill fitting suit, that was too big on you, you also had the advantage of watching all of those primary debates donald trump had been in. what was your takeaway from watching those? it was interesting. asa watching those? it was interesting. as a regular political watcher i had seen as a regular political watcher i had seen most of the republican debates throughout 2015 and 16 bit when i we nt throughout 2015 and 16 bit when i went back and watched each three times i watch them in their entirety, a second time just to watch donald trump and then a third time with the volume off behind the podium so that you mentioned, just getting the hand and head motions

down but what i notice more than anything wasjust down but what i notice more than anything was just his down but what i notice more than anything wasjust his language and while that sounds incredible obvious now what i'm mean by that is i think we all know by now and even then he lies a great deal. when you like, when you don't care about what you are going to say it gets a lot easier to speak. i'm speaking to you now on television. part of me is nervous, i want to be a good guest andl nervous, i want to be a good guest and i want people to think i am smart and insightful, so i'm thinking a little bit before i speak. but this is not howl thinking a little bit before i speak. but this is not how i speak to my friends are my neighbours are my cats. if i could go through life saying whatever i want like the cheers character george costa nza saying whatever i want like the cheers character george costanza and i got what i wanted i would send incredibly normal. if i said whatever i wanted and the bbc put me on tomorrow i would sound really, really normal and genuine and honest age of ten people were nine of them we re age of ten people were nine of them were formal governors, setting governors, senators, it really stood out and gave a false sense of honesty and genuineness that really

worked out. the last thing i will say on that is last year i wrote something saying that joe say on that is last year i wrote something saying thatjoe biden might be the hardest person for him to debate because joe biden does not sound very programmes, to debate because joe biden does not sound very programmes, everyone gives sound very programmes, everyone gives him a hard time about the so—called gaffes but we all make gas and it might make a more relatable. the other thing he's very good at is counter punching and i think you sort of spotted that in the debate prep, i pulled a snapshot of that from 2016 let's have a watch. it's awfully good that someone with a temperament of donald trump is not in charge of the law in our country. because you would be injail. cheering it isa cheering it is a memorable comeback and that's really whatjoe biden has to avoid when he's on the ropes. that's avoid when he's on the ropes. that's a painful moment to watch because he did get the better of her in that moment. on the whole he did not. i

think there's a difference between joe biden and donald trump, really donald trump of 2020 and donald trump of 2016. not that he's a different person but the circumstances are different. in 2016 was very efficient with his words as crazy and histrionic as they may be. he would basically say i am great, she is terrible and then he would go on some digression about some unrelated matter. he spent minimal time defending himself even in the face of the most egregious problems like access hollywood. four years later we see donald trump every day. we know who is showing up tonight but he has a different format. he puts more emphasis on attacking, less on delivering any kind of message and while he is who he is the head of message for years ago as a lot less of one noun. four years ago he had a very finely honed attack on hillary which that clip demonstrates perfectly well. he does not have that against joe

demonstrates perfectly well. he does not have that againstjoe biden. what he does have an is a very long list of grievances, whether it's about how slippery the ramp is when he is trying to walk it or how perfect a transcript is talking to the ukrainian president and it's his choice. both men have fundamental choice. both men have fundamental choice. they can spend 90 minutes bickering, 90 minutes talking to a super bowl size audience they have not had to date and will never have again andjoe not had to date and will never have again and joe biden innately knows and his team has reminded him that he will serve himself better talking to the people. talking to the camera. to the people. talking to the camera. donald trump will not make that same argument and you will have some guy, imagine i was on several just now and i had a tambourine doing this. you would have to decide whether to turn around and chase me around the set orjust concentrate and speak what you were saying. it's really important as well, and it kind of reminds me that as you bang your tambourine, that america is so

politically divided but this is a unique moment in one sense as you have both of them for 90 minutes without the filter of peoples favourite cable television channel. you see it tonight for how it is and may be forjoe biden that is going to play to his strengths because he is an affable likeable guy. the two candidates, you hit the nail on the head,in candidates, you hit the nail on the head, in 2016 the candidates it's ha rd head, in 2016 the candidates it's hard to remember but right before the first debate one that can and for each debate hillary's lead got bigger and bigger. had for each debate hillary's lead got biggerand bigger. had the for each debate hillary's lead got bigger and bigger. had the election been the day after the debate she would have won resoundingly. it's not that this is the biggest audience, they haven't been in the same place at the same thing possibly as long as his inauguration four years ago. or perhaps barbara bush's funeral or george hw bush's funeral. hillary could not remember the last time, he thought it might

have been his wedding a decade earlier. though that sounds strange when we turn the tv on tonight, the election is to people and the contrast between them and when you see them ten feet apart wearing masks from, not wearing masks or one and one not wearing a mask of the contrast is so sharp you might not even realise how it is and that's going to play to joe even realise how it is and that's going to play tojoe biden is favour because you can argue about who is going to when but i think anyone with a head on their shoulders will say that joe biden with a head on their shoulders will say thatjoe biden is in a better position right now than donald trump and that for a lot of reasons but because people see donald trump every day. if that guy shows up tonight, why will they like him any more at 9pm tonight than 2pm in the afternoon? real not and he is incapable of seeing that, admitting it and even if he could he's incapable of doing anything about it and even if he could, for 90 minutes tonight he is incapable of keeping it up for the next 35 days. so it's

absolutely in joe biden's favour. it up for the next 35 days. so it's absolutely injoe biden's favour. if ourjoe biden absolutely injoe biden's favour. if our joe biden i absolutely injoe biden's favour. if ourjoe biden i would say thank you for moderating, thanks for having me at the university and now i yield my 45 minutes to donald trump. laughter that would be bold. which would give his preference heart failure as you know. thank you very much i have to say, it does feel half the time on this programme like christian has turned up with a tambourine he's banging around the set and i'm wondering what to do about it. so interesting. the question is, how much do these debates actually matter? according to a new politico poll, 86% of voters say their minds are made up about who they will vote forjust14% say they are persuadable. 41% of those polled also say it is "very accurate" to say "trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic resulted in thousands of preventable deaths in the us", so he's got work to do on that front

but mr biden has vulnerabilities on the economy, 40% believe the presidential hopeful wants to raise taxes on middle—class americans. let's bring in steve cortes, a senior advisorfor president trump's 2020 campaign, he's in cleveland. let's look at this from the republican point of view. she has hot seated into the seat laura was ina hot seated into the seat laura was in a short time ago in cleveland, ohio. i wish i was there with you but it's a reduced debate this time around. thank you. we heard about howjoe biden might have been prepping in the sense we had about how hillary clinton was prepped back in 2016. do you how donald trump has been prepping and can you give is a behind—the—scenes peek at what's been going on? well, the answer is yes i do know and no, i can't share with your details. go on, play with usa with your details. go on, play with us a bit. just between us, nobody

else listening or watching? what i can tell you is this. the president has certainly prepared, there were stories he had not prepared at all, that's certainly not true. i won't get into details but i will say this, being president is the best preparation you could ever have and also being a president who is incredibly accessible to the press, he's probably more accessible and transparent with the american people and the media than any politician in the us history. so he's constantly sparring with a highly antagonistic press, i think that alone is almost daily debate prep at the president is clearly ready, he comes into this tonight with the name of excitement for everybody, for the biden side as well, it almost has the electricity ofa well, it almost has the electricity of a prize fight. i assure you our fighter is ready to get in the ring. it has been reported, they were saying they don't want him retrospection, defending his record

over the last four years. we've seen in the introduction he has an ace in the hole so he has to look forward doesn't he? i agree. ithink it's pertinent to briefly looked backwards because we should talk about the economy pre—pandemic donald trump built but that certainly insufficient, i agree with that. we cannot stay in the past, we have to talk about what's going on now and the future. thankfully on the economy we have a great present tense story to tell in this country. the economic data is simply off the charts optimistic and i will give you some numbers to back that up, just last week we got new home sales up just last week we got new home sales up for the united states for the month of august, the biggest month in14 month of august, the biggest month in 14 years. the only time in us history we did better than the month of august was 2006 and we know a lot of august was 2006 and we know a lot of that was built on nonsense and lone chicanery. today we got consumer confidence, that number we nt consumer confidence, that number went from 86 to 101, and absolute smash of wall street expectations.

confidence is growing. housing, car sales, this is an economy that is roaring back to life. the president will make a compelling case he has created conditions for that first trump boom and the second and it can accelerate and continue if you rehire him. he clearly has the stronger hand on the economy compared to joe biden stronger hand on the economy compared tojoe biden but let's talk about a little about the pandemic because he may not want to talk about it very much, he may want to states in the rear—view mirror america is turning the corner, but paul after paul shows that the overwhelming issue. paul after paul shows they are concerned about their safety in this pandemic and that he doesn't do so well on. safety in this pandemic and that he doesn't do so well onlj safety in this pandemic and that he doesn't do so well on. i would be the first to concede we have more of a challenge on this topic. i think we have a strong record to demonstrate and present to the american people. i think i could list dozens of actions but to a more

significant. you cut america off... and the president has made that point but the public doesn't seem to be buying it. how does he present his handling of the pandemic in a new way tonight that overcomes some of their concerns about specifically his handling? i will be the first to say we have a challenge. for our campaign we have not yet accomplished. we have more time to accomplished. we have more time to accomplish it but i think what we will continue to demonstrate is the president will continue to demonstrate, is that the actions taken in the past are continuing to this very day. just yesterday announcing we will have 100 million quick almost instant tests sent out of the country. the vaccine tha n kfu lly of the country. the vaccine thankfully we can't count on it yet but it's looking incredibly optimistic and also pointed to the american people that in most places of this country we have learned to live with and manage the risks of the virus in ways that are

appropriate and life is getting back towards normal. we are not there yet but in large parts of the country life is returning to normalcy. it's a process but we are made enormous progress and it's incumbent on the president and people like need to speak for him to highlight that for americans. they know it intrinsically but we need talk about a better and message better. lovely to have you therefore is, do come back soon and talk to us more. love to, thank you. super interesting to hear both sides and the challenges facing both candidates. hear both sides and the challenges facing both candidateslj hear both sides and the challenges facing both candidates. i wasjust going to ask quickly about the statement that republicans put out because the games of started ahead of the debate. the campaign team put out a statement earlier saying...

may have also talked about the bra kes may have also talked about the brakes biden wanted in the 90 minutes and also about whether there should be drug tests. the implication is clear what they are doing. we should start by doing fact checking because the biden campaign has denied categorically that they ever said there would be an earpiece or that they asked for those breaks. i think what's happening here is and by the way all of this even though it has been denied by the biden campaign very firmly, has spread all over facebook and the internet and cable television and we're talking about it. what it does is up expectations. that if trump comes out of this and they feel he has had a bad debate they could say well, look, there were earpieces involved and lots of breaks i think that's what they are doing. we are being told we have run on for too long. for those watching on bbc

world news, we'll be right back. the duchess of sussex has lost the latest ruling in her privacy lawsuit against the mail on sunday. the high court in london has ruled that the newspaper can amend its case ahead of a trial next year — and use a recent biography in its defence. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. this latest pre—trial skirmish and as you said the mail on sunday has won in the duchess has lost. the mail on sunday can change the particulars of the defence and introduce this biography biography into the case when it comes to trial and they will argue this will tend to suggest that she is prepared to breach her own privacy with writers and authors of her choice when it suits her to get to promulgate her side of the story. her lawyers argued strongly that she had no contact with the authors of finding

freedom. they said nothing in this book could not have been sourced by other publicly available material. the mayor of new york has said the city will impose fines on people who refuse to wear a face mask from tuesday. mayor de blasio said people will be offered a free mask first then face an unspecified fine if they continue to refuse. there were nearly 5,000 cases in new york last week. you see, katty, you have been saying for days there are almost no rules in the us, only guidelines. but now we have a mask mandate in new york with fines. but it is a slippery slope, because once you start introducing this plethora of rules you, have to remember what they are! and today, the british government had some trouble spelling them out. here's skills minister gillian keegan trying to explain the new restrictions in the north east of england.

i know in the rest of the country generally you can meet in a pub and you can book a table and the restrictions are indoors in terms of... you don't know the answer to that. no, i do not know the answer to that question, but i am to that question, but i am sure they can find out the answer to that question, ijust don't have the details. if you can't give us the answers to that, how do you expect people to keep up—to—date with the latest rules when even you as a government minister can't answer the question? i'm sorry i can't answer that question, i am sure there are many that could, i do not represent the north—east. ouch. but then maybe it is better to err on the side of caution, rather than attempting to spell out the wrong advice. here's the british prime minister. it's 6, or six in hospitality but as i understand that not six outside. cue the urgent clarification on twitter.

"apologies," said the pm. and here it is. what is worse for the government is that despite all these rules the figures are still going in the wrong direction. here is the graph showing daily cases in the uk since the beginning of the pandemic. you will see spike one on the left. and at the beginning of may, daily cases levelled out atjust over 5000. today the uk recorded 7,143 new cases. that is the highest daily figure since the pandemic began, albeit that testing is now much better than it was in april. so, yes, of course more cases are being identified. we have talked about this. you have lots of rules and then people get confused and then. testing the government because the rules keep changing and what do immunologists keep telling us on this programme? the one thing you need is public

trust and if the rules keep changing you ask where a class team are resting. in the office we talked about the rule of six and couldn't work out if it's to households or maybe six households of we had a bit of running bet in the office. the point is the more important point is the rule of six has been in since the rule of six has been in since the 14th of september so two weeks and you would hope right now these tighter rules would start to deliver a dip in the curve but we are not seeing that. in fact the deaths of starting to rise. 70 today which is slightly bigger than previous days so it's going in the wrong direction and that's when it sparks the debate. should the rules be tighter, should there be more restrictions should there be more restrictions should be not have the mettle and that's the problem. every country has to be a humble about this because you hear steve talking about the country being back to normal we have to note that yes life can be for the normalfor have to note that yes life can be for the normal for the have to note that yes life can be for the normalfor the moment but it can slip so anyone who says this is

the path we're on and we assorted, i think that's a risky position to ta ke think that's a risky position to take for the politician, right? think that's a risky position to take for the politician, right? hello. for a large swathe of the uk, it's been a fine day with a decent dose of sunshine. tomorrow, though, it is likely to look very different, thanks to low—pressure rolling in from the atlantic and a lot of wet and windy weather coming our way. what we had through today was a little ridge of high pressure. that is now slinking off into the north sea. as the low pressure approaches from the atlantic, the winds will start to strengthen in the west through the evening, we'll see rain moving into northern ireland and through the small hours, that rain will extend west in scotland and into cumbria and more broadly across the northwest into wales and the southwest and the rains will be heavy and accompanied by fairly gusty winds. south—westerly winds, and accompanied by a fairly gusty winds. south—westerly winds, a milder night for many than we've had in recent nights. wednesday morning starts great

and wet in the west, in the east potentially a brighter start than we had to stay with the cloud lingered around. come the afternoon, there'll be some sharp showers breaking out ahead with the main band of rain and heavy rain pushing to the south in the afternoon and evening. perhaps a little bit brighter to the afternoon for was northern england, but also towards the evening for northern ireland and the northwest of scotland, as this whole frontal system swings its way eastwards. there is a little hill, a little bump, if you like, to the south of that area of low pressure for thursday. that is a very brief little ridge of high pressure and it will settle things down for thursday. so, we will have lighter winds, a lot of dry weather around, some showers for eastern scotland, some heavier ones getting into the west later in the day. generally, in contrast wednesday, are quiet today. on the chilly side, highs of 13 or 14 degrees, very much the calm before the storm. this is the area of low pressure that's our big forecast headache at the moment. friday could bring very strong winds

to the south of the uk and set to stay with us on into the weekend, but positioning exactly is proving rather difficult as we move from model run to model run, because of a series of areas of low pressure effectiveness, that's where we get the worst of the weather and subject to some changes and certainly for the end of the week, it is looking chilly and very, very unsettled, the wettest weather currently thoughts are at the moment, across england and wales. for the weekend, we even things out and looking pretty unsettled across the board.

you're watching bbc news with me katty kay in washington, christian fraser is in london. our top stories. donald trump and joe biden get ready to go head to head in the first presidential debate in election season. bob woodward's book about donald trump sold more than 600,000 copies in the first week — the president read it and called it "very boring" — we'll be talking live to the author. also in the programme. a verdict following breonna taylor's death was a long wait — now — to explain why there were no homicide charges the attorney general will release the tapes of grand jury deliberations. plus, the new jet suit for paramedics that's taking daring mountain rescues to new heights.

from nixon to trump — every president has sat for interviews with bob woodward — nine presidents in a row, offering themselves up to the pulitzer prize winning journalist for what ultimately becomes a lasting literary self—portrait of their time in office. with carl bernstein, mr woodward made his name investigating the watergate scandal. and ever since, presidents have spoken to him hoping to sway public opinion about their administrations. during the process of writing "rage" his latest book on the current president, donald trump spoke with woodward 18 separate times. their conversations totalled 9 hours and 41 minutes — that's a big chunk of time in a busy man's agenda. during theirfinal talk — mr woodward warned mr trump what kind of book he could expect.

parts of the book you're not going to like stop what one i like? it's tough times. the virus, it is you repeatedly toward me and have said publicly, it has derailed things and it isa publicly, it has derailed things and it is a big reality in peoples lives, as you know. so, iwill get it to you. you know the market is coming back for a strong, you do know that? you cover than the book? 0h, know that? you cover than the book? oh, sure. we are joined now by bob woodward. i want to know, back in the middle of august, you sound like someone who was giving a child the disappointing exam result. it was going through your mind as the president was responding to you?|j

president was responding to you?” needed to tell him the truth that the book was done and that they're going to be some very tough i said about him and make somejudgements and then, he went, the market is doing well and how sad, how outrageous that a president who oversees at that point, almost 180,000 deaths in this country is talking about the stock market. yes, the stock market as part of the story but the grave and historic miscalculations he made in dealing with this virus is going to go down in the books that are written decades from now. which why at the end of the book, you make a judgement about this present in your opinion and in a way that you

haven't about previous presidents. is that why? yes and the overwhelming evidence and when you doa overwhelming evidence and when you do a book like this, you are so immersed in donald trump world and the administration and i've got lots of new information and it's a book about the truth and i have to face the truth. i cannotjoin the ranks of republican senators in the united states who know that donald trump, who was a privately that he is unfit for office or not the man for the job but will not say it publicly. i was not going to hide in silence. i can't do that as a journalist. why did you call it rage? because those are the rage that donald trump used

backin are the rage that donald trump used back in 2016 to say in this very confessional way, oh, i back in 2016 to say in this very confessionalway, oh, i bring out rage and people. i asked confessionalway, oh, i bring out rage and people. iasked him confessionalway, oh, i bring out rage and people. i asked him again about it this year and he repeated that he said, amazingly enough, he doesn't know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing. did you come to an opinion or these 18 interviews what four more years of donald trump would look like, where the world would look like, where the world would be in 2024 if you gets a second term? i cannot do the future, obviously, but if you'll bear with me about the past, because i was looking through some notes and transcripts and witness testimonies about what happened ten days after the president was told by his national security adviser and deputy that a pandemic was coming to the united states. the 19 18 spanish flu

pandemic that killed 75,000. ten days later, president trump decided that he better call the chinese president and it is astonishing as he is ringing, donald trump is wringing his hands saying that i embarrassed him at this. and they finally make the call on february six nine p:m., donald trump is in the white house and he says to xi, we wa nt the white house and he says to xi, we want to sell, since some of our experts on viruses like this to the united states to help you eradicated. then, just donald trump saying that they will need visas, as if he is the visa guy in the state department and xi says to him, oh, we are making great progress on the virus and peace, donald trump sizes second time and xi lies the second

time seeing that oh, we are safeguarding the world. we do not wa nt to safeguarding the world. we do not want to create panic and xi says, it is like the 2003 sars epidemic. just the exact opposite that donald trump national security adviser had told him ten days earlier. donald trump was played by president xi in a way that i am doing this for 50 years i have never seen an american president count—out so shamelessly toa president count—out so shamelessly to a communist dictator. of course, donald trump is saying that it is xi's forward and it is the chinese virus. you are tough on donald trump he told the president that you are going to be tough on him and i guess and you started off with watergate and you started off with watergate and exposing richard nixon. it begs the question, why do donald trump do

this? why did he sit down with you for over nine hours in a late night phone call? what was he trying to do? well, i wrote a book in 2018: fear, about his first two years in the white house and he denounced it as fiction, a couple of people close to him said by the way, mr president, it's true and donald trump agreed to talk to me and i made it very clear one into the oval office, took my little olympus tape recorder, put it down and said this is all on the record for a book that will come out before the election and soi will come out before the election and so i was able to take all the issues of the day, like the virus, his handling of the virus, it is a

medical and moral catastrophe for this country and it is on his head because he knew it was coming, he was warned of the kind of details that you do not see that often and he saw this and he heard this. the book is rage, congratulations and thank you forjoining us. tonight's presidential debate poses two very different challenges for the candidates. forjoe biden — it's the risk of taking on such an unusual adversary. for donald trump — it's a chance to upend the contest and reframe the race away from the pandemic and towards the culture wars that have divided this country. but take a look at this — right now almost 40% of voters view defeating the virus as their top concern in the election. double any other priority, and not an issue trump traditionally polls well on. let's speak now to rick tyler, who was ted cruz‘s communications

director when he ran for the republican nomination in 2016 — and played trump in the senator's debate prep. he's a critic of the president and has a new book out ‘still right‘. he joins us from virginia. chris devey on the programme. —— good to have you. you play donald trump earlier, what doesjoe biden have to watch out for internet‘s debate? what does he have to anticipate that he may not be expecting? with donald trump, it is very ha rd to expecting? with donald trump, it is very hard to pick what you may or may not do and he has lots of antics but it's either going to be one debate or the other. in onejoe biden will win and the others you will lose. if this turns into a hate wrestling match, joe biden will lose. if it is a normal presidential debate that is centred around policy and issues, than joe debate that is centred around policy and issues, thanjoe biden should do very well there because this

president really is all policy is foreign to this president, including foreign to this president, including foreign policy and joe biden has been doing policy for his entire life. so, joe biden allows donald trump to suck you men and have them respond to every falsehood that he utters then he is going to lose that sort of a race or smack down between the two of them and ifjoe can dish it out, people are looking forjoe biden to be serious in presidential and because the president such a low barfor and because the president such a low bar for the and because the president such a low barfor the vice and because the president such a low bar for the vice president, and because the president such a low barfor the vice president, hejust needs to do that in a very calm way andi needs to do that in a very calm way and i think you'll do fine.” needs to do that in a very calm way and i think you'll do fine. i was just going to say, you are advising ted cruz back in 2015 and it was a campaign in which donald trump was a lwa ys campaign in which donald trump was always the centre of attention and all of 11 debates ijust want always the centre of attention and all of 11 debates i just want to play our audience a clip from that and it is from the debate in clevela nd, and it is from the debate in cleveland, december listen to this. we are looking for you to raise your hand now. raise your hand now if you

will not make that pledge tonight. mrtrump. mrtrump. to be clear, you're standing on republican primary. i fully understand. where they will give the nominee the knot. what is interesting about that is the feeling at the moment is that donald trump had done something extraordinary, but actually all the attention is on him if you could recap the debate because i cannot hear the audio or see it. i could not hear it and i apologise to my —— the audience. it is the part of the debate saying that what you stand by the results and promised to stand by the results and promised to stand by the results and promised to stand by the results of the election and donald trump was the only person to put his hand up and say actually no, i'm not going to promise to

support the nominee and stand by the results of the primary.” support the nominee and stand by the results of the primary. i remember that very well and that, there was a hint there that we should have anticipated for the rest of donald trump presidency that he wasn't going to follow the rules it was interesting about donald trump is that he has not follow the rules he could see that in this latest tax returns and the way he talks about and treats the military. somehow, he has gotten away with it. in the presidential primary, when he said john mccain was not a war hero because he was captured, i think eve ryo ne because he was captured, i think everyone collectively thought the conservative wisdom i'm a conventional wisdom would say that it is over, but it was not over we saw that through the primary on the surface of the day. ok, this the end of the debate when he came down the escalator for the announcement and had his disastrous, but we thought was a disastrous announcement speech, like those interesting, that's over and it was just again and again and again. with donald

trump and going for him was the unknown that he convince people that i'm going to represent you, i'm going to represent the middle class, you're tired of washington politicians and what you really need is successful business person to run this country right because donald trump had sought that his entire life including his many years on the apprentice, he was and created this character himself, that is why these taxes which i believe will be the question that he will put out there is so important because a campaign professional, i have helped people, candidates to their best story and if the story is true it's candidates to their best story and if the story is true its effective. but donald trump us told the story and it's but donald trump us told the story and its effective that that story is not true. he is not a successful businessman. he is a terrible manager. he is not a leader, he is not a billionaire, he is not he is not a billionaire, he is not he is no better than the 7—11 franchise.

at the top of the programme, we asked what it was like playing donald trump and i understand from senator cruise that actually, you are senator cruise that actually, you a re pretty senator cruise that actually, you are pretty good at playing the president. do you give us a little flavour of that before the break.” do not know if i could do it on demand. have to take a long time to think about how to be donald trump and basically, i challenged everybody on everything and what was the year he was in the first actual debate, donald trump got in a row with chris christie that actually happened in our debate prep and at the end of the debate, we were all staying in character and the wrapped up staying in character and the wrapped up the debate, the moderator who played the moderator and ted cruz, who was standing two places away from he looked at me and said, well, donald trump won that debate. because i had basically argued like a third grader argues. i know you are, but what am i. that actually

happened in the clinton debate. and if that happens to joe happened in the clinton debate. and if that happens tojoe biden, you will not do well. if he keeps his cool and talks about policy and then plans to get us out of the coronavirus because he can't do that, you cannot regrow the economy and that is donald trump possible a strength of that is something that they have not connected, they're not connected the fact that until we defeat this virus there is no economic rebound. i know you are but what of my, that is how me and kathy run this programme. except i am right always. rick, thank you the book is still right. thank you very much. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: emergency care by air, the futuristic jet pack flying paramedics to patients in hard to reach areas. latest estimates show more than 50 universities

across the uk have had confirmed cases of coronavirus. it's led to hundreds of first—time students being told to isolate in their new accommodation. there was even the possibility they might not be allowed to go home for christmas but — after discussions between university staff and ministers in england — a family christmas should now be possible. here's our education correspondent dan johnson. lockdown students have been waiting for the way out of isolation. but today, they heard that there is more of it to come. there may be a requirement for some students to self—isolate and we will be working with the sector to ensure this will be possible elizabeth and her flat have been out for days. i don't think that, i think we just want some clarity because we are being penalised massively forjust trying

to get an education. at the university, campus life is restarted to some degree. numbers are limited to some degree. numbers are limited to the 30%. but there is some teaching in classrooms. a lot of face—to—face, it's not too bad and some people don't get any sort of meeting online, but this was a big draw to be living here. but some have opted to avoid halls of residents, who have instead commuted an hour each way. if i was at home online constantly, i do not think i would get the same experience that i should be getting. i don't want to pay so much of it was just online all the time. these are definitely challenging circumstances, i think the only way to deal that is working really closely with local experts in public health bodies, working with student community and at the heart of all of this, as much communication as you can provide.

the latest on the contunuing impact coronavirus is having on student life here in the uk. you're watching bbc news. the killing of breonna taylor — a black woman shot dead in a police operation at her home in kentucky —— has become a focal point in the ongoing protests over police brutality and racism in the us. last week, a grand jury decided no officers should be charged over her death. normally, the tapes ofjury deliberations are kept secret, but one juror sued for their release, and now they will be made public. kentucky's attorney general said he was confident the recordings would show his team had presented a "thorough case". not everyone is convinced. let's bring in 22 packer, senior fellow at the watson institute for international & public affairs at brown university.

really get to have you with us. what are you looking for when this tapes is released? i think it is great to be here. whatever will be looking for when the tapes are released in the transcripts are released is what witness did the attorney general call forth, but witnesses were allowed to testify, what witnesses testimony was considered evidence and that is a big sticking point because it hinges on whether the police, the other police would be indicted and whether these neighbours heard the police announce themselves because it was changed from a no knock warrant to a knock and announce warrant, the witnesses would be very important and also the language that cameron used and whether or not more importantly, he presented them with the option of

indicting these other police officers. so, if youjust indicting these other police officers. so, if you just said is not justified in that officers. so, if you just said is notjustified in that they officers. so, if you just said is not justified in that they were justified in shooting and we don't even have to go over that and then that would be very telling because that would be very telling because that means the jurors never had a chance to vote on whether or not to indict. and that is the big picture question. is the lawjust? is the law and impartial when it comes to theissue law and impartial when it comes to the issue of police brutality and african—americans in this country who fall victims to police brutality. is the law able to do its job? is that what looking for? and i think the answer to that is no. the law is not able to be just. and that is are the steps are important? right. because the police have long

been allowed to investigate themselves in the law says that they are right to defend themselves even from the stand your ground. does pass that? are you actually saying that the attorney general who appears before the grand jury is the prosecutor, it is the discretion he has to present the facts to them and instruct them on what charges they can bring. he has an enormous amount of discretion, doesn't the? exactly. you can say whether or not wants the other officers indicted or not. he determined that by leaving that out and that they have no choice but to vote on it. you can determine who's evidence is presented and how the evidence is presented and how the evidence is presented and how the evidence is presented and so he has norms discretion, more than any other prosecutor has. joining us there from the university. thank you very much. a question of what

evidence is put forward because that will determine what decision and conclusion thejury will determine what decision and conclusion the jury reaches which is why these tapes are so important. paramedics travel by ambulance, motorbike and helicopter to deliver emergency care, but they could soon be rescuing people injet packs. the futuristic looking suit was tested by the great north air ambulance service in the uk after years of development. it's hoped they will help to dramatically reduce the response time to patients in hard to reach areas. the suits have two mini engines on each arm and one on the back allowing the paramedic to control their movementjust by moving their hands. taking your kids to the zoo should be an educational experience. a chance to get familiar with some exotic animals.

but i'm sure parents weren't expecting those lessons would extend to teaching their youngsters profanities. five african grey parrots were adopted by the lincolnshire wildlife park in august and placed in quarantine together. but when they moved into the main outdoor aviaries, they started swearing at visitors, and ruffled a few feathers in doing so. action was swiftly taken. they have now been moved into different colonies, away from delicate ears. this park is no stranger to bi rd controversy. it's also home to the parrot that went viral on social media with his version of beyonce's ‘if i were a boy'. honestly might make the things people the things people tweet these days.

we will have more reaction by the day to the debate to mike on bbc news april not be talking about tweeting barrett's or profanities. hello. clear trends in our weather for the week ahead. things are going to be very unsettled and also on the chilly side stop on wednesday, it will be wet and windy in the details with the wind moving and we will see some struggles and on wednesday, some struggles and on wednesday, some heavy rain courtesy of an area of low pressure centre to the north and france on the west of the uk through the course of the night, pushing ran across scotland, england and wales in the south for the first half of the day pushing for their use risk afternoon and some brightness on a wednesday afternoon but another print of rain will swing

across into scotland but behind that some late brightness and parts of northern ireland and the northwest of scotla nd northern ireland and the northwest of scotland will be a windy day on wednesday as well. and you feel cooler as a consequence of all the rain around. overnight, winced into thursday, you can see things tend to clear. the wind will become lighter and will be a bit and murky and hang back. a little bit of hill here. the south of low pressure which will have a ridge of high pressure just a transient ridge which would be fairly short—lived before thursday, it will calm things down quite nicely and what is going to be a fairly stormy week or so. the wind will be late if for thursday and should be a reasonable amount of dry weather and sunshine on the chillier site and have your showers approaching the southwest later in the day. thursday into friday, or forecasting headache. dominating this area, how deep this feature is

to the south of the uk as of the questioning and exactly where it sits as well. it could turn out to bea sits as well. it could turn out to be a very deep area of low pressure running through the channel and gale force winds and severe gales across the southern area and quite an extensive spell of heavy rain further off with some showers and some question about the exact positioning of that low at the moment, but it definitely has the uk and its sites and then with a low pressure, it will stay with us to the week ahead as a deep feature and another windy day at the moment, the trend is heavy into the eastern ridges and tracking its way westwards again, just take the detail with a pinch of salt because it is very hot with this area of low pressure for us to pinpoint the exact development. here's the picture. centre to the south across the uk and that will have the depth of this one on sunday subject to

some questioning and it may turn out to be shallower or deeper and that means the winds could be lighter or stronger but there is the potential for a spell a very strong winds and possibly gales to the south of the uk and some fairly relentless rain in further north, it looks like a be scattered with showers. you may think things will start to quiet down and on into next week, jet strea m down and on into next week, jet stream near us and centre to the north of the jet stream on the cooler side and as the jet stream ru ns cooler side and as the jet stream runs close to the uk through the early pa rt runs close to the uk through the early part of next week on monday, tuesday and wednesday, we will see a succession of low pressure working its way across southern reaches of the uk and so for the south, things would be quite wet at times, quite windy everywhere, dressed and brightest the further north you are next week.

tonight at ten — evidence of growing confusion among the public about the latest covid restrictions. in the north—east of england, the new rules against households mixing indoors come into force later tonight but the prime minister was less than sure of the detail. you should follow the guidance of local authorities, but its six in a home or six in hospitality, but as i understand it, not six outside. across the region — there's no shortage of signs that people are having difficulty keeping up with the changing rules. i'm worried i'm going to get told,

you shouldn't be doing that, because