this is bbc news. washington in the time of covid. the virus is spreading in the white house, the senate and now the pentagon. the president is back home in isolation but itching to get back on the campaign trail. which is where his opponent, joe biden, already is. with pennsylvania a key battleground state, the democratic candidate is shoring up his support. wall street tanks after president trump tweets that he's ending negotiations with democrats on a pandemic stimulus bill. also in the programme.... boris johnson tells the conservative party's virtual conference that the country will have a brighter, greener future when the pandemic is behind us. and the teenager from texas who only realised she had the longest legs on the planet when she discovered there were no

leggings to fit them. hello, i'm katty kay in washington. christian fraser is in london. it's getting hard to keep track of how many people in the trump administration either have the coronavirus orare in quarantine in case they have it. the president himself, freshly back from hospital but technically in isolation for another week, is reportedly itching to get back into the oval office. and it's notjust the white house that's a covid hotspot. the pentagon too has been hit by the virus. several of america's top military officials are now quarantining after the vice commandant of the coast guard tested positive on monday, and don't forget the senate, which has been temporarily closed after three senators tested positive. the status of the us government in a pandemic, a month before an election.

here's our north america editorjon sopel. dramatic music plays. when donald trump left the white house last friday, he appeared dejected, fearful. but wow, his return last night couldn't have been more different. the former reality tv star knows how to make an entrance, and so had the white house turn into a made—for—television spectacular, all deliberately timed so it could be taken live by the network news bulletins who were on air at the time. and, after striding off of marine one, he walked up to the truman balcony. and the first thing he did there — he very deliberately removed his mask, even though still infectious. covid — what's there to be frightened of? don't let it dominate you. don't be afraid of it. you're going to beat it. we have the best medical equipment, we have the best medicines, all developed recently. and you're going to beat it. i didn't feel so good. and two days ago, i could've

left two days ago — two days ago, i felt great, like better than i have in a long time. i said just recently, better than 20 years ago. although 210,000 americans have died and over 7 million have been infected, this was donald trump presenting himself as the warrior president who had seen off the hidden enemy. i stood out front, i led. nobody that's a leader would not do what i did. and i know there's a risk, there is a danger, but that's ok. and now i'm better, and maybe i'm immune, i don't know. there were numerous takes as the president, all the time without a mask, interacted with staff. his democratic rival, meanwhile, was campaigning in florida. he said he was glad to see the president back, but added this. anybody who contracts the virus by essentially saying "masks don't matter, social distancing doesn't matter" i think is responsible for what happens to them. mr trump's doctors have warned he's not out of the woods and, as he reached the top of the steps to the white house residence,

he was clearly gasping for breath. it may be there's a gap between the image he wants to project and a more fragile reality. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. his physician has released another update. his vitals are stable and donald trump is reporting no concerns about how he's feeling. in fa ct, concerns about how he's feeling. in fact, he has tweeted two words, block capitals, feeling great. jon sopel block capitals, feeling great. jon sopel, bbc news, at the white house. the white house balcony is often used for set piece photo—ops with various visiting dignitaries. it's been the case for decades. go back to 1993, and you'll see bill clinton with south korean president kim young sam. in 2007, george w bush and his wife welcomed the queen and the duke of edinburgh. in 2015, barack and michelle obama hosted pope francis. and president trump used the balcony to make a different kind of political statement, having returned from his weekend stay at the walter reed hospital.

and maybe you'd be safer on the balcony, because inside that white house there's an outbreak of the coronavirus. at least 28 people have tested positive having spent time in the building. that's more active covid cases than in new zealand, taiwan and vietnam combined. normally, there are around 400 people working in the white house, but we are told the number of people interacting with president and first lady is now being kept to an absolute minimum. to try to keep the president contained, aides reportedly say the diplomatic reception room and map room have been prepared as working spaces for him. the president won't be working out of the oval office, and in any case, many of the staffers from the west wing are quarantining after press secretary kayleigh mcenany tested positive. so how do you keep a president and his staff safe capitals, feeling great. jon sopel, bbc someone who knows the white house

very well is ron christie, who was an advisor to george w bush. good to see you, ron. we are going to put some photographs up on the screen all the talk. of your time in the white house. i want people to see just how small these rooms are. maybe you can talk us through just how cramped the white house is and why it's really not the kind of place you want to take a chance with covid—19. place you want to take a chance with covid-19. good evening to you. it's good to see you. i would say to the viewers around the world that the white house complex is small to begin with. but once you get into the west wing, where the president's most senior advisers have their offices and they work with the president, you're talking about very cramped quarters. very small offices with a lot of support staff that are sitting shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow. so the notion that you can have a fully staffed white house in this pandemic is a reality that this

white house and this ministration is going to have to recognise that we can't do what we need to do things socially distance and being six feet apart at minimum. where in relation to the oval office is this diplomatic reception room and the map room? so the map room and the reception room are in the ground floor of the residents. so if you are coming down the president's private elevator and you look to do your left, you would see the other i’ooiti you your left, you would see the other room you referenced. if you look straight ahead, you would walk out of two sets of double doors and you'd walk about 150 yards down in the rose garden, down the colonnade, you would make a left and then walk into the oval office and make a right turn and walk in the oval office through the glass doors. so you're talking about a grand commute of about two minutes. that's the kind of commute i would like. the president is there and for the next

week, as you were when you have the coronavirus, he is supposed to be in isolation. isolation means you don't see anybody. is it possible do you think for him to be moving around the white house without seeing anybody at all? good afternoon to you, katty. noi anybody at all? good afternoon to you, katty. no i don't. for one thing, the secret service is outside the president's bedroom so if he opened the door, the secret service will be there. if he decides to come down, he would be in the elevator of the staircase to work in the demo i dashed diplomatic reception room, you will see a secret service, military aides and those who work within the residence —— in the diplomatic respect and room. the question is can you avoid people, can you wear a mask, can you say socially distance within the white house? yes, i believe he can. do you think that enough people... i remember you were there after 9/11,

and the white house basically emptied out and every essential personnel was able to work there. do you think those of the kinds of restrictions that should now be put onto people going into the white house? 10096. onto people going into the white house? 100%. after onto people going into the white house? 10096. after 9/11, the vice president went to a safe location which meant for those of us who worked for him at the time, we would come in to talk with him and meet with him via secure video. but we cleared out the white house staff after 9/11, only essential personnel and the people who are critical to the functioning of the running of the functioning of the running of the government where they are. this is what this administration should do at is what this administration should doata is what this administration should do at a time of a pandemic, and there is an opportunity for this administration to lead by example and say if you work from home, you can do it responsibly, but let's not bring more people into a very, very cramped situation. i could do white house history with you for hours and hours, but there was a major story that was breaking as we came on air.

the president tweeted out that he is basically stopped negotiations with democrats over trying to get another economic stimulus bill. within seconds, the americans dowjones tanked. clearly, financial trainers did not like that. what the president doing? because his big strong point has been the economy and the financial markets, but he just said something that made those markets unhappy. 0k, just said something that made those markets unhappy. ok, i look at this, there's a poll that says 74%, want there's a poll that says 74%, want the president to come to some sort of relief bill before the election. yeah, the fact the president put this out while the market was still open, what did he think would happen? of course it tanked. this is against the majority, the will of the people. it's almost like he's trying to lose. thank you very much.

good to see you both. let's speak to dr chris t pernell. she's a public health physician at newark‘s university hospital who recently lost her father to covid—19. iamso i am so sorry for your loss, i understand your sister has also been out well as well. when you see president trump tweeted out that people should not be afraid, what is your reaction both as a doctor and someone who lost a family member? thank you for having me on today. as a family member, really, it's... i saw how my father fought and struggled for his life. i could only experience that via phone or via a video call because the hospitals we re video call because the hospitals were locked down already. we didn't

have physical contact with him. i know that he's no longer here, so for the president of the united states to say don't be afraid of covid, don't let it dominate your life, it's too late to say that to those of us who lost our loved ones and it's really unfortunate and disrespectful to those who are going through this fight currently, like my sister is. my sister is what we call a long haulier and has been struggling to recover and has not been able to return to work. her doctor has told her she needs a supplemental oxygen, so it's not possible for her to not let this dominate her life. as she shared with me, when she read that week she cried. she just stopped and cried. did yourfather or your cried. she just stopped and cried. did your father or your sister get remdesivir or an antibody therapy? so when my father was in the hospital, he died on april 13, at that point, there were very few

compassionate use scenarios for remdesivir. but no, my father did not get that. the antibody cocktail was not even discussed as an option. my father had frequently been on steroids, given his baseline history, so i know how useful they are especially when a patient has any type of inflammation in their lungs or difficulty breathing. my sister didn't have remdesivir. my sister didn't have remdesivir. my sister wasn't hospitalized because she was afraid. she didn't want to go into the hospital. she was a breast cancer survivor, and wanted to try and stay at home. there were some within the president's team who hoped that maybe the condition he had would force something of a political reset, but that doesn't seem to be what's happening. it occurred to me today that whatever happens in the election, he's going

to be at the pulpit all the way through the end of january when he may be replaced or not. all the way through the teeth of the pandemic that he's going the wrong way. does it worry you as someone who works in a hospital that he effectively will be in control of the message? yeah, i'm speaking as a public health physician and a health advocate. i just had this conversation not too long ago. i'm very concerned. i believe our publicans and —— public institutions have been corroded, in particular, public health. i'm concerned we need the public to be able to trust the guidelines coming from public health experts, and we need politics not to be indicated. we only need science and data to help us get solutions, whether those be treatment or vaccines. very sorry for your loss and we wish the best to your sister. thank you very much for being on the programme.

the american people are rendering a judgement on the president's attitude. let's have a look at the national polls. you'll see thatjoe biden currently has a nine point lead. when you drill into the polls, you see when you look at white voters that it's going the wrong way on people who have college degrees. particularly women. if you look at this, that is incredible. a116 point lead among women with college degrees. the only people for tromp ‘s men with no college degrees. that's his base. —— for trump. the reason is because of this. theyjust don't trust the president when it comes to coronavirus. last week's debate and his own brush with the

pandemic haven't changed those numbers for him on covid. the president tweeted today democrats only want to talk about the coronavirus, but he should be talking about the economy because the economy is doing so well. he's right in that respect. joe biden is tweeting effectively, and the difference between his approach and donald trump's approach is all about the mask. this is what the five and campaign window. however much donald trump makes fun ofjoe biden, that is what they're talking about. but it's working forjoe biden. the funny thing about donald trump's strategy as maybe it is working for donald trump in the sense that he wa nts to donald trump in the sense that he wants to satisfy his base, so the more he is mocking of masks and taking his own mask off, maybe his base likes that, but it's not

working out a strategy if you want to expand the number of people who will vote for you on election day and increase your chances of winning the election this november. joe biden's strategy doesn't seem to be working for him, and those numbers with women who decide the election, keep an eye on those numbers. for those watching on bbc world news, we'll be right back. first minister nicola sturgeon says new restrictions will be introduced in scotland tomorrow but will fall short of a full lockdown. the bbc‘s sarah smith explained what changes were likely. we don't know exactly what those are going to be, but bars and pubs across scotland or brace for bad news. we do know it's not going to bea news. we do know it's not going to be a return to total lockdown. people aren't going to be told to stay in their homes and the schools are definitely not going to be close. apart from the planned

october half term holidays. and it's not that the government are hoping to use to try and create what's become their own —— known as a circuit breaker. tighter regulations for two weeks to try and stem the rise and infection rates. so it could be that restaurants, bars and pubs will be told to close or severely restricted and how they can operate in order to try and clamp down on the rising infections. nicholas turgeon says this is the most difficult decision in the crisis so far but she's trying to balance public health needs against the wider harms we know stricter rules can pose —— nicola sturgeon. today should have been the day borisjohnson addressed a packed room at the conservative party conference. had it not been for the coronavirus pandemic, the prime minister might well have been basking in the glory of december‘s thumping election victory. but he wasn't. there were no crowds, no lap of honour — he was talking to an empty room. and it is remarkable thatjust ten months on from the election,

the prime minister is facing questions about his leadership, trying to reassure people, mostly within his own party, that he is on top of the covid crisis. mrjohnson dismissed rumours he is flagging from long covid. today, he brimmed with optimism. his speech focused little on how his government might finally get to grips with test and trace. instead, it focused on the sunny uplands, the other side of the pandemic. in his sights, that key group of people in wales and the north of england, that had returned him to number 10. mrjohnson aims to fulfil his promise, to level up the country, by delivering a green revolution. there is one area where we are progressing with gale force speed, and that is the green economy. the green industrial revolution that in the next ten years will create hundreds of thousands, if not millions ofjobs. i can today announce that the uk government has decided to become the world leader in low—cost, clean power generation,

cheaper than coal, cheaper than gas, and we believe that in ten years' time, offshore wind will be powering every home in the country. let's talk to deborah mattinson, author of beyond the red wall and co—founder of the strategy consultancy what britain thinks. deborah, it's good to see you. not sure donald trump once a green economy, but it is striking when you listen to borisjohnson that there are echoes of what the president is saying. both of them are desperate to move beyond covid and start talking about the recovery, but we're not there yet. i think what was remarkable about the speech was what was not in it. if borisjohnson in the wrong that people do want to reset when all of this is over, they do want the world to be different and better, but what they want right now, the thing i must worry about is the virus. once it sorted and where

they are to disappointed in him as they are to disappointed in him as they don't feel he is a strategy. i think people who have been waiting for the plan, and think people who have been waiting forthe plan, and he think people who have been waiting for the plan, and he talk about something quite different. it's like talking about a post war when you haven't won the war. and those areas in the north, which a little bit like... are they convinced by this message on a greener economy? well, they're convinced that they want their places to be better and they wa nt their places to be better and they want to revive their own economy, they want to rebuild the industry they've lost. there are huge parallels as well. their places proud history and very on certain —— uncertain futures. i don't think that's particularly high up on the list. they want a shift in resorts from other parts of the country —— resource. unless that happens, then

they won't believe that their future is shorter. this is something barack obama tried to do, persuade democratic, non—college—educated voters that there was a future in the green economy. he didn't really manage to do it, but i've been to places in ohio and michigan and people still want car plants and steel factories because that's where they know the jobs are for people that don't have a college education. wrinkly, they don't buy it. they don't buy that there will be the jobs —— frankly, they don't buy it. it's a strange strategy for him. at least that is the situation here in the manufacturing heartland. least that is the situation here in the manufacturing heartlandlj least that is the situation here in the manufacturing heartland. i think you're right. ithink the manufacturing heartland. i think you're right. i think people's first point of reference is what they know, and they know what they've lost. they know they've lost the mind, the steelworks, the factories.

but that's something they feel needs to be replaced. i don't think it's impossible to sell the idea of a green future, and to sell the idea of green history, but it's a harder task but may be one that makes more sense in the long—term. i wouldn't be too down on that, but i think there is a huge communication task ahead if that's the route we're going to go. in the meantime, people will be like, why are you talking about this when we want to hear what you are doing about the coronavirus? they don't believe there can be an economic recovery until the virus is sorted. so interesting. thank you very much forjoining us. fascinating parallels between the two countries. very interesting. let's get some of the day's other news. prosecutors in france have begun investigating allegations of spot—fixing at the french open tennis tournament. betting companies say suspiciously large sums were gambled on a break of serve in one particular women's double game last wednesday.

the break happened with the russian player, jana sizikova, serving two double faults. the acclaimed guitarist eddie van halen has died at the age of 65. he had been having treatment for throat cancer. his band, van halen, were best known their song jump, which hit the top of the us charts in 1984. now for something completely different, we are going to introduce you to a record breaker. this is 17—year—old maci currin who lives in texas, and recently while ordering a pair of leggings, she discovered there weren't any that weren't any big enough to fit her. why? because, as the guiness book of records informed her, she has the longest human legs on the planet. they stretch almost a metre and a half in length and make up 60% of her total height. she is a staggering 2.08 metres tall. which is 6ft 10 in old money. so her legs go up to here, nearly 5ft. she has gone public with this record she says, to inspire tall people

everywhere to embrace their height. it's strange because i'm quite the opposite. i am 5.10 but i have very small legs. in fact if i was in proportion to my legs, i would be a jockey. way too much information. or maybe a jack russell. but living by ms currin's example, i embrace them nonetheless. 0k, ok, so we really did need to know all that about your legs. but i'm very glad. i hope someone entrepreneurial, this being a country of entrepreneurial, has realised they need to make extremely long leggings because she needs them. we definitely need to know that. laughter you have another 20 seconds, tell us more about your legs!|j you have another 20 seconds, tell us more about your legs! i have quite long legs and it is quite hard to

find good leggings. my daughter has super long legs and i can't find any for her. that's enough about our legs. by. good evening. tuesday's been a showery day, but the further east, a little more shelter and fewer showers means a little more sunshine, as you can see across north yorkshire. threatening—looking cloud though for much of the day. in parts of west wales, rough seas as the winds just close to gale force along the exposed coasts. —— gusted. we started off with sharp showers, particularly out to the west. some of those drifted their way steadily eastward through the day. they will ease down and we'll see a window of finer weather developing for wednesday. however, just want to point out this mass of cloud across the atlantic. more rain to come across parts of england and wales in particular for thursday and friday. so the showers will ease overnight. we keep 1—2 sharp showers to the far northwest of scotland. but where skies continue to clear,

temperatures may well get down into single figures. it could be a chilly start to wednesday, but a good deal of sunshine will be around. we keep that brisk northwesterly wind feeding the showers here and, as we go through the afternoon, the sunshine turns increasingly hazy with patchy rain pushing into southwest england and south wales. ahead of it though, temperatures widely peeking into the mid teens. but it's through wednesday evening and overnight towards thursday morning that we will see a spell of yet more heavy and persistent rain. a spell of yet more heavy we will need to keep an eye on that after events that we had over the weekend. that will gradually drift its way steadily eastwards, but this weather front may well linger for a time, bringing the potential for further pulses of wet weather particularly across parts of southern england. so we start off on thursday morning on a wet note, hopefully that frontal system leaves away. we need to keep an eye on that and how quickly it eases away, allowing for some brightness depending on the temperatures. if we get more sunshine, we could see 17 celsius — the showers and the cooler feel continuing in the far

northwest of scotland. friday still brings the risk of yet more rain, particularly across england and wales. but the weekend shows signs of improvement, and that's because we have an area of high pressure just slowly pushing in from the atlantic. it means that for the start of the weekend, we could see some wetter weather running down through east coast, but a northerly wind will keep kicking, meaning it will feel noticeably cooler as well as we had towards the weekend. fewer showers but a brisk, cold wind.

you're watching bbc news with me katty kay in washington, christian fraser is in london. our top stories... donald trump says he's looking forward to taking part in the presidential debate in nine days' time. on his first day back in the white house, the president again played down the seriousness of covid—19. whilejoe biden takes his campaign to gettysburg, pennsylvania — to make an address appealing for unity and healing. also in the programme... britain gets ready to a join the space race — we'll be speaking to the person looking skyward in cornwall the new home of a uk launch site. plus, marking ten years of instagram and how its shaped trends for travel, food and fashion.

so far — 30 people with access to the white house have contracted covid—19. they range from top white house officials, to republican senators, to the residence staff, to reporters who are covering the daily briefings at white house. and journalists are among those who are now expressing concerns that they are being put at risk by simply doing theirjobs. in recent weeks jeff mason the white house correspondent for reuters, has had several runs in with the president for wearing his mask in briefings and following the rules that were set down by the president's own covid task force. can you take it off because i cannot hear you? i'll just speak louder, sir. you want to be politically correct. no sir ijust want to wear the mask. go ahead, go ahead. you can have to take it all, please. just take that off. how many feet are you away? i'll talk louder. well, if you don't take it off, you're very muffled, so if you take

it off it would be a lot easier... i'lljust speak a lot louder. is that better? it's better, yeah. it's better. and jeff joins us now. imean, you i mean, you really have to battle to keep your mask on in the white house with the president. those are a couple of good example i think of how deep the president has said about masks and just affected everything his policy, and his press conferences and israelis. so yeah, both of those cases i left my mask on because i was around other reporters. despite the fact that he's right, i was far from him reporters. despite the fact that he's right, iwas farfrom him —— rallies. that's the reason you wear a mask. and how many reporters now from the press corps that we know of that have tested positive for the coronavirus? the white house correspondents association has been keeping people apprised of that. the latest numbers that they have shared with reporters and the members of

the association is at three journalists have tested positive for the coronavirus in the last week or so. basically during this latest white house outbreak. one of those reports i think he said his wife is also guarded, as well. yeah. yes a friend and a terrific colleague. also guarded, as well. yeah. yes a friend and a terrific colleaguem there much evidence of contact tracing that you see, jeff? in terms of co nta ct tracing that you see, jeff? in terms of contact tracing the answer that question is no. the white house has not been routinely reaching to people who were at for example that saturday event when the president nominated judge amy comey barrett to the supreme court for top that applies tojournalists the supreme court for top that applies to journalists as well as others that were in that audience was up in general the contract do not co nta ct was up in general the contract do not contact tracing is not been robust. i know you want to talk about the campaign because you follow the president and what he's doing at the white house. it strikes me, and the president really

reflected some of his frustration that everybody is focused on covid—19 because he has it. and now they're focusing on the economy because he's entered the negotiations with the democrats. we are not negotiations with the democrats. we a re not really negotiations with the democrats. we are not really focusing onjob negotiations with the democrats. we are not really focusing on job five and in pennsylvania. were not really getting to grips with his campaign, are we? oh, i don't know. ithink the polls would suggest that people are watching what you're biting is doing. he has certainly had nationally as well as some of the kings two key swing states. sure, president trump has been very adept at making sure that he gets a lot of cove rage. at making sure that he gets a lot of coverage. the point i'm making is that it's become, because of what the presidency went whether he likes it or not it's becoming a referendum on him. it's not becoming a choice between him and joe biden which i'm sure the president supporters would like it to be. i think that's a good point. i think the trump campaign has wanted to make it more of a choice between the two. and i think the biting campaign and many others

would argue that it's been a referendum on president trump the entire time. certainly it is true and clear that the fact that the president got the coronavirus and his response both to the pandemic broadly but also to his own diagnosis being in the hospital, coming back to the white house, going out of the hospital to greet supporters last night ripping his masks off once he got to the white house. all of those things have put the virus in the pandemic straight back into the middle of this campaign. where mostly it was the whole time with a little bit of a segue during after the death of ruth bader ginsburg and his nomination for the supreme court. yes, broadly i would agree. it's absolutely put that into the centre. and again made ita that into the centre. and again made it a referendum on that his handling of the pandemic. jeff, what are you hearing about the presidents movements at the moment in the white house? he tweeted he wants to get back out on the campaign trail. he's

supposed to be an isolation at least for a week. are you getting a sense of whether he is get getting in contact with people in the white house? weather is going to stay in isolation and take this seriously or not? i don't have any sense beyond what he has said. i think it is clear that he doesn't like being off the campaign trail. he doesn't like being sidelined. but the truth is, he's sidelined because he got a virus. that is a fact. ijust don't know how the campaign would plan events right now and expect people to attend if he goes before that period is over. the campaign has repeatedly held events like the big rallies that i'm sure you've either attended or seen throughout this pandemic. despite the advice of public health professionals. it's just hard to say whether they will try to do that again or not. okay.

thank you forjoining us. i've been following this white house today on twitter you can have a look if you stay at home. you might be able to see some of the details is quite small item. it sort of sets out that one in ten people who have been tested, 10% have got positive test. you go through that list it is quite extraordinary. it senior white house officials, it's quite extraordinary. it senior white house officials, its three senators, of course. and republican officials. media which we've just talked about and now of course the worry will be that it's also spreading to the pentagon. but the president is unphased because he tweeted today that is on the mend and he's really looking to taking pa rt and he's really looking to taking part in the debate which is not so far away, next thursday. part in the debate which is not so faraway, next thursday. i part in the debate which is not so far away, next thursday. i can't help thinking that he sorta setting himself up. he's gotta be well enough take part. yes, one of the

doctor saying? is he out of quantity and he will he have to have had a series of negative test before he could actually get there? and if there is a presidential debate next week will it look like the vice presidential debate which is going to have a sheet of plexiglass? between the two candidates tomorrow night. we can have senator kamala harris her campaign has asked to have plexiglass between her and the pipe vice president mike pence with might look kind of weird. we seen it done before. it was done in a south carolina debate. i saw that. it's a bit odd. like a sort of cover that when around. i think this will be done a bit better because it will be the president delete that presidential debate commission will put it out. perhaps it will be done a bit more artfully. of course, the vice president spokesperson lost no time saying if senator harris wants to use a fortress around herself

have at it. so that was their reaction to it. again, actually think at the moment, being safe and careful about covid—19 is probably a pretty good winning strategy for the democrats. because when you are reckless, look what happens. you get covid all over the white house. there is the plexiglass that's the plexiglass from last night at the debate between senator lindsey graham and his challenger. he could see what i mean, it's going to be in the middle, isn't it? ithink, it's a presidential level debate. it's done on a much more professional level. again, ithere's done on a much more professional level. again, i there's much of a downside for democrats looking like they are airing on the side of caution at the moment. if president trump is to win re—election in november, his road to the white house will almost certainly run through the state of pennsylvania. four years ago his campaign did

the unthinkable by flipping the former democratic stronghold — and he's looking to repeat that win this year. and the democratic party is equally determined to win it back — spending fifty—five million dollars in ads in the keystone state. former vice presidentjoe biden is there today — addressing his supporters in gettysburg. let's speak now to a voter in the state— craig sweitzer, who's supporting president trump for re—election and joins us from leesport, pennsylvania atrump a trump supporter from lee's port pennsylvania. thanks very much for joining us. you voted for the president i think the first time you voted at all of our president back in 2016. and you are planning to vote for him again in 2020. any reservations about how his performance has been for you over the last four years? any moments when you thought you'd switch to the democrats or have you been a solid trump supported the whole time? i've beena trump supported the whole time? i've been a solid trump supported the whole time. and what is it in

particular can you name something in particular can you name something in particular that you like about the president? there is nothing really in particular that i like about him. imean, in particular that i like about him. i mean, it's more, ijust personally can lined myself up with the democratic views on almost every standpoint that they have. so it is more about policies that about the person himself, is that what you're saying? right. yes, that is correct. in what areas? can you talk to us about specific areas? is on tax, the green economy, you're out there in pennsylvania, what really matters to voters like you? what matters to me is, i voters like you? what matters to me is, lama voters like you? what matters to me is, i am a big second amendment, i love my guns. i love having them. and everything i've seen on the democratic side and especially in the debates even with o'rourke or

whatever his name was, just nonstop trying to threaten the second amendment. yeah, i was thinking when we we re amendment. yeah, i was thinking when we were talking tojeff at reuters, how does it feel to you when you watch the sort of media coverage? i know we are dribbling down into covid and the presidents attitude to it and what we are not focusing on is perhaps things that matter to you. as far as media coverage, i tend to slip around on the tv and media coverage is, everything is always biased. that's the biggest thing. you've got one new station that's consistently trying to down the president, one that is trying to talk him up and it's like trying to find that in between ground on where to be is one of the hardest things you can do. crag, it sounds like you should be watching the bbc. come and

watch us. thank you forjoining us there from pennsylvania. cornwall in southwest england is best known for its quaint seaside villages and picturesque ports. and christian loves their cornish pasties. it is not well know as a booming centre for the space industry — at least not yet. construction of a new spaceport in newquay airport begins this month in preparation for a boeing 7117 lifting off into the stratosphere in 18 months time where it will release a rocket from its wing which in turn will send a load of satellites into orbit. melissa thorpe is from spaceport cornwall and joins us now. how is newport going to compete with cape canaveral, the americans, the chinese, the indians? how are you going to do a? hi, good evening. so

here we are very different from those sites in that we are a commercial airport. what we are doing is integrating space launch into that. we are a horizontal launch site. most people think of a vertical launch as straight up and we are using in existing runway to use and also an existing aircraft a boeing 747 to take off at the end of the runway go up to about 30,000 feet and deploy its rocket from midair. that's the bit i don't understand because we've all been up in the seven for 7, most of us have. and we are nowhere near the stratosphere, are we? what's going to make the satellite go that way upwards rather than come down to earth? a lot of amazing technology. a small satellite launch company and space company basically what it does once the seven name cosmic girl gets up once the seven name cosmic girl gets up to about 35,000 feet it dropped 70 foot rocket that is under one of its wings. that rocket then

basically deploys up until the earth orbit and that releases the satellite payload into space. actually, it's not the aircraft itself that goes into space it's the rocket that is sitting underneath one of its wings. the aircraft and can come back and do it all over again. i don't understand why everybody doesn't launch satellites this way. downey cape canaveral is you've got to have miles and miles of space between you and anyone else nearby because you can't obviously have a rocket blasting off cape canaveral with people nearby, it just went be safe. you can do it from a local airport in cornwall you can do it from pretty much any airport there is. why isn't everyone doing this? there are a few things that we have to stick to certain requirements. we need a really long runway. not many airports around the world let alone here in the uk have the length of runway that is required. we also need things like direct access over the sea, low residential build up as you said.

and uncongested airspace above us was at that restricts a lot of sites around the world. yes, there are many commercial spaceport starting up many commercial spaceport starting up and that's just because there many commercial spaceport starting up and that'sjust because there is a massive demand now for more launch around the world. at the minute there is a bottleneck in the industry. a lot of new technology trying to get into space and they can't because is only a handful of places doing it. the demand is going out, the need for launch is going up and that's why we are here to take advantage of that market opportunity. to be clear, this will bea opportunity. to be clear, this will be a private enterprise and not a british national enterprise. no, it's actually part of the uk government, uk space government. they identified this need, the uk actually build a build a large majority of uk satellites. the uk government identified this market opportunity and put out a bid to sites around the uk. so it's actually a private, public

partnership between us, cornwall council, virgin orbit and our pounders not partners. is this separate to the european space programme? this is a brexit thing? no, this is part of the uk space agency. we are all part of the european space agency and that will not change after brexit. quite a nice place to go to get a job in the space industry. + after that one if i were + after that one in the space industry. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... it's a lot of very serious news right now. don't worry, stay with us — we've got a beautiful tiny panda coming up. hundreds of musicians have gathered in london and birmingham today to protest at a lack of government support for professional musicians who are freelance. they held a two minute silence saying they've been

abandoned during the pandemic and urgently need help. our arts editor will gompertz reports. classical music plays. as makeshift orchestras go, this one would take some beating. 400 of the country's leading professional musicians tuning up in parliament square. they've come to make their case to the politicians gathered in the building behind them. it's difficult to overestimate the impact that the pandemic has had on britain's live performance sector. musicians specifically have been hit really, really ha rd, having loads of gigs before and almost none afterwards. something like 30% of musicians are talking about leaving the profession altogether. 70% are earning a fraction of what they were earning this time last year. the players performed a brief passage of mars from gustav holst‘s the planets. the musicians' union said that

around 85% of their 32,000 members are freelance, many of whom have been unable to claim adequate income support. there needs to be more concerted effort, whether that be through philanthropy or government funding or a combination of the two, that actually targets money towards the freelance community, because it's enormous, we rely on it, and they are being left out. when times are good and when it all comes back, actually, a huge amount of money is generated by music and entertainment. we are the destination, really. when you go to see a show in the west end, perhaps you don't think about the people in the pit, but that's the freelancers. the musicians fell silent, both in london and in a corresponding event in birmingham, to make their point. the department for digital, culture, media and sport said it was working flat—out across the government to help the arts through covid. will gompertz, bbc news. you are watching bbc news... now — christian, i hope you're

ready to strike a pose and choose your filter because today marks instagram's tenth birthday. how time flies. the app has changed the world , both for better and for worse. it launched on this day in 2010 — getting 25 thousand followers in its first day. in 2012 social media giant facebook bought instagram for one billion dollars. fast forward to today and the app has over one billion users with 500 million new posts everyday. the most followed person on instagram? the footballer cristiano ronaldo with 239 million followers. one more then katty. but the aspirational aesthetic of many influencers filters and fillers, never ending holidays, bikini pics, tanned and toned bodies,

makes people worried about the apps impact on mental health of a generation of young girls. just look at these stats for teenage girls self harming in the united states the number remained pretty stable between 2001 and 2009, but from 2010 the year instagram went online the numbers rise. for girls aged 15 — 19 self—harm rates have risen 62% since 2009. for girls aged between ten and 14 — that number has risen by a shocking 132%. danae mercer, an instagram influencer herself, has a feed that is full of before and after photos of herself showing what it looks like when someone poses for an instagram—worthy photo, versus what they look like in reality. come on let's face it. lovely to see you. a very good service you provide actually, i've been looking and feeling a lot better about myself. all those round and flabby bits that i have. ijust realise now that it's the way they stand and pose, is in

a? well, thank you so much to say that. you know, it often is a lot to do with posing and angles, lighting, camera lenses, even the time of day that you shooting that will either show or hide like you said, the fla bby show or hide like you said, the flabby bits are in my case my cellulite, my stretch marks. it's a lot to do with those sorts of things. that spike in self harming particularly among teenage girls is worrying. is that the reason why you started to move in this area on instagram? ad say it's partly the reason. i have a history of eating disorder. it happened after my mind eight mum died when i was 19. that, navigating that and all those body image issues, that definitely plays into a lot of the stuff i talk about. also absolutely for teens

today, i genuinely believe it's harder than it was, i'm 33. it's harder than it was, i'm 33. it's harder than it was, i'm 33. it's harder than it was when i was younger. it's the girl next door at that showing up as perfect. and glossy and shiny and achievable. but it's not. it's still a photo shoot. it's, absolutely. ithink social media accounts like instagram can be great ina media accounts like instagram can be great in a way for girls because they can put you in touch with other girls that have your same passion, you can do amazing things, build movements on instagram. i don't think it's all bad. but a look at my teenage daughter and the photos she poses, posts are always very carefully pose. i worry about that. there is this generation and i wonder whether instagram needs to step in and some way. it's a great question. i think it's incredibly complex. i think the minute you have one app stepping in witch in an ideal world i would love to see

technology providers doing this, ta ke technology providers doing this, take the example of instagram came out and said ok, we are going to limit the filters that look like plastic surgery. so instagram introduced that and right away if that tick—tock who have that almost built in as a pure function. you will always have a new app that emerges. i think perhaps the better way would be to educate people and educate young girls. even women. i didn't know until i was in my 30s the share impact that lighting would have on the body. okay. thank you very much. so interesting. by the way that was a picture of puppy manning the camera at home and clearly didn't like the picture i had taken. and before we go, some important news coming out of washington's national zoo. it says based on the results of genetic testing, its 6—week—old giant panda cub is...a boy.

you have to do it genetically that's the point. yes, absolutely. hello. tuesday brought contrasting conditions from coast—to—coast. a beautiful day across much of northeast england. as you can see through north yorkshire, blue sky and sunshine. there were a few showers around into the afternoon but most of the showers were certainly further west as you could see across parts of the west coast of wales. threating looking skies, rough seas as the winds were stronger here as well. the area of low pressure starting to drift away, the iso bar is open up it wins ease down with the exception the far northwest of scotland. here a westerly breeze driving in some sharp showers as we go

through the day. there will be a glorious day of sunshine for many of us. clouding over across west wales in southwest england by the end of the afternoon. temperatures should be quite widely into the mid teens. as we move out of wednesday into thursday, things get a little tricky with this area of low pressure threatening to bring rain across parts of england and wales. some of it heavy. there will be pulses of wet weather through thursday into friday. thursday sees that rain slowly easing away but we need to keep an eye on just how far north that goes and that if we get some sunshine coming through behind it temperatures may well peak at 17 degrees. we still keep the risk of showers into the far northwest. as we move into friday, there is a potential for more wet weather to push into the west. a level of uncertainty just where this rain is going to be sitting for somehow far into scotland or england it will be? you will need to keep abreast of the forecast for the end of the working week. there's going to be a spell of wet weather once again moving its way predominantly through england and wales to the north of that bulk

of rain it will be cooler, breezy and shari. breezy and showery. as we move out of friday into the start of the weekend things get a little more straightforward. an area of high pressure slowly building in from the west. still it means risk of showers across eastern england to start off our weekend and a northerly flow will start to kick in. this blue tone dives its way steadily south. i believe it's gonna be cooler for all and the wind certainly will be a feature as well for the that's the story for the first half of the weekend. saturday showers threatening to drift in off the north sea. a few showers driven along by this brisk northwesterly wind put up that said sandwiched in between the two, a good deal of dry, fine weather and some sunshine coming through. a notable difference with the feel of the weather, ten to 14 degrees. for the start of next week that mean sunday onwards it does look as though it will state largely dried with that high pressure building just a few showers. but a rather brisk, cold wind

descending from the north. where the winds ease gardens and growers take no, we could see sheltered, rural areas a touch of frost. but sunday into monday looks promising. dry, settled good deal of sunshine coming through the look of the difference with the written direction coming from northwesterly foot up those temperatures also just below average for this time year. high pressure is trying to hang on in there. all the time is further ahead we've got the risk of some weather front toppling across that high introducing more in the way of showers in the northwest was up it doesn't look as though the theme next week predominantly stays dry and we won't see any significant rain until the end perhaps on thursday. that's it. take care.

tonight at ten — council leaders in some of the biggest cities in the north of england are warning ministers that the current covid restrictions are not working. in leeds, liverpool, newcastle and manchester, where new cases are rising sharply, local leaders say the 10pm rule for pubs and restaurants needs urgent review. we don't believe closing down the whole of the hospitality sector at ten o'clock at night is the way that this is going to solve the problems that we're facing. and in hospitals across england, they've recorded the biggest rise in admissions in a single day sincejune. in scotland — the first minister is expected to announce new restrictions tomorrow but not a full lockdown. also tonight...