welcome to bbc news. i'm james reynolds. our top stories: america's leading infectious disease expert warns of a surge of covid cases between thanksgiving and christmas. when you have the kind of inflection that we have, it does not all of a sudden turn around like that. so clearly, in the next few weeks, we're going to have the same sort of thing and perhaps even two of three weeks down the line. president trump claims the fbi and the department ofjustice are working against him and again repeats unsubstatianted claims the election was "rigged". the united nations says 110 civilians have been killed in an attack by suspected islamist militants in nigeria. a miraculous escape at the bahrain grand prix — romain grosjean's car hits a crash barrier and bursts into flames.

star wars music plays and the man who became darth vader — the actor, david prowse — has died at the age of 85. the us‘s top infectious disease expert is warning there could be a "surge upon a surge" in covid—19 cases, as millions travel home after thanksgiving. dr anthony fauci says the outbreak is likely to get even worse and has urged people to wear masks. the us has recorded more than 13 million coronavirus cases since january this year. as of sunday, the number of covid—19 cases recorded in the us this month has passed four million — that's double the figure recorded in october. health experts had called for people

to spend thanksgiving this past thursday at home, but, anywhere from 800,000 to more than one million travellers passed through us airport checkpoints on any day during the past week — marking the busiest period since march. bbc‘s nomia iqbal reports from washington. he is america's most trusted voice on the coronavirus pandemic. dr anthony fauci, the leading expert on infectious disease painted a dark picture as we head towards christmas.” cannot see how we don't have the same thing because when you have the kind of inflection that we have, it doesn't all of a sudden turn around like that so a sudden turn around like that so clearly in the next few weeks we are going to have the same sort of thing and perhaps two or three weeks down the line, martha, we may see a surge upon a surge. his warnings comes a few days after thanksgiving, one of the biggest holidays in the us. more than 9 million americans

travel to see family. despite please the day before to stay home to stop covid—i9. please the day before to stay home to stop covid-19. do not let yourself surrender to the fatigue which i understand is realfatigue. i know we can fatigue which i understand is real fatigue. i know we can and we will beat this virus. america is not going to lose this war. it will take a few weeks to find out what overall a cts weeks to find out what overall acts those decisions to ignore warnings could have not already a stark number in la county, in california. more than 5000 new coronavirus cases were reported on thanksgiving day. 0fficials have now issued a new stay—at—home order from monday, limiting people's movements which will run right up to december 20 and, as we approach christmas, dr anthony fauci's message is close to bars, keep

the schools open. if you look at the data, the spread among children and from children is not really very big at all. not like one would have suspected that let's try and get the kids back but let's try and mitigate the things that maintain and just push that kind of community spread we are trying to avoid and at those other things we know well, the bars, the restaurants we have capacity sitting indoors without masks. he reminded americans help is under way with vaccine trials proven to be effective so far but he said it current restrictions and safety measures will still be necessary for the christmas holiday season to keep alive any chance of beating the virus. nomia iqbal, bbc news. dr dean blumberg is an infectious diseases specialist at the university of california. i asked whether he thinks people should be staying put until the surge is over. absolutely. people need to social distance, they need to stay put,

they need to not interact with people as much as possible outside their household and, when they are out doing essential business, then they need to be wearing masks. america has this calendar that almost no other country has — a major national festival at the end of november, thanksgivings, and then of course christmas just a few weeks later — i imagine that complicates it more for america than for other countries going into winter. i think it is lining up in the worst way possible, with thanksgiving and with christmas, that we have households interacting over thanksgiving, a traditional holiday where extended family and friends together. we expect there to be an increase in cases in one to two incubation periods — 2—4 weeks after that and that takes us right into christmas where we are going to see an additional increase in cases. we are eight months into this, is fatigue to some people playing a part? they just want to travel and see their families

and not have to pay attention to more instructions? i think pandemic fatigue does play a large role and then i think there is also a masks fatigue, that people just don't want to wear masks, they want to get back to business as usual, and they miss their family and friends. how quickly will america do you think be able to distribute a vaccine once a vaccine is approved? i think they will be able to do well with vaccine distribution. we saw this, for example, in 2009 with hini, when we had a novel vaccine so this can be done. it does depend on the vaccine availability, and it also depends on the public confidence in the vaccine. dr dean blumberg. mexico's health ministry has confirmed 196 new coronavirus deaths and more than 6,000 new cases on sunday. more than 105,000 people have now died from the virus in the country. the health authorities say the real number is likely to be much higher, because there isn't enough testing going on. president trump has lashed out at both the fbi and us department ofjustice, saying they were working against him in his efforts

to overturn the result of the election. in his first interview since his defeat, donald trump repeated unsubstantiated claims the election was, in his, words, "rigged". this is total fraud and how the fbi and department ofjustice, i don't know, maybe they're involved. but how people are allowed to get away with this stuff is unbelievable. this election was rigged. this election was a totalfraud. my mind will not change in six months. there was tremendous cheating here. i've been speaking to our north america correspondent peter bowes. i asked him if this was part of a well—thought out legal and political strategy, or something more scatter—shot? it seems to be little thought out in many respects, especially if you look at the many court cases around the country, some of which has been withdrawn by the president's legal team, others have been rejected by the courts and byjudges

who have pointed out quite simply the lack of evidence. so now, for the president to be pointing the finger at the fbi and his own government officials might seem to be a case of desperation as far as some observers of this are concerned. what is interesting is when he talks about not changing his mind in six months' time — that is perhaps the clearest indication we have had yet that the president, president trump, will never concede this election and will never actually acknowledge that mr biden has won. we'll have more on that later in the programme. the un says nigeria's most deadly islamist attack this year could have left up to 100 people dead. dozens of farm workers were brutally killed although the exact number isn't known, with some people still missing. paul hawkins reports. another grim milestone in nigeria's long war with its islamist militants. dozens of farm labourers rounded up

and their throats slid. rice fields which became killing fields. a number of women were also reportedly kidnapped. translation: there were six of us in the bush yesterday. we headed back into the village. we were shocked as we reached them. we found their corpses and that was where the main killings took place. we changed our route and went through a nearby village. we met so many people fleeing without knowing where they were going to. some were even unconscious. a huge quantity of harvested rice was set on fire. the latest attack happened near maiduguri, the capital of borno state, in north—east nigeria. that's a region where two islamist militant groups, boko haram and islamic state west africa, have been fighting the government. over the 10—year conflict, 30,000 people have died, over 2 million have been made homeless. this latest attack is one of the worse in recent months. neither group have claimed responsibility. president buhari's official spokesperson say the president described the attack as insane and said...

translation: boko haram killed many of our people. 32 people were slaughtered. we need assistance, we need some weapons and armed men, because we have youth who can volunteer to guide our farmers while working. please, please, for god's sake. those calls for more military assistance are growing. it is not the first time farmers have been attacked by islamist militants who suspect them of passing on information to the military. last month 22 farmers were killed, in two separate incidents, but local media quoting an mp said this recent attack was because farmers had arrested a boko haram gunman on friday. it is one audacious and rather horrific reminder of past attacks, such as the mass abductions in 2014 of the chibok schoolgirls, and even the mass abductions that occurred in 2018. it reminds us of how

bad the crisis is. a crisis that seems without end. the government repeatedly claims that the militants have been defeated but the attacks keep coming, people keep dying, the grief and insecurity keeps rising. paul hawkins, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the mystery of the metal monolith — discovered last week, in a us desert — it's vanished as unexpectedly as it arrived. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i am feeling so helpless that the children are dying in front of me and i can't do anything.

charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at 11am this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: america's leading infectious disease expert warns of a surge of covid cases between thanksgiving and christmas. president trump claims the fbi and the department ofjustice are working

against him, and again repeats un—substatianted claims the election was "rigged." let's get more on president trump's first interview since the election. i've been speaking to professorjustin levitt, a nationally recognised scholar of constitutional law and the law of democracy at loyola law school. i asked him if there's a larger plan behind the president's scattershot allegations to turn his loss into a legend he could avenge in 4 years' time. i don't know if there is a plan so much as a series of instincts, and i also don't know will guide him to any successful resolution. i think seeing desperation, some of his personal psychology, some fundraising, the longer that these allegations go on the longer the lawsuits go on the more he can keep raising money, and i think we are seeing some vengeance. he believes, he has always believed that the american people were set against him from the start

of his presidential term and i think he is endeavouring to set the american people againstjoe biden for the start ofjoe biden‘s term, whether that leads to anything in four years foertrump is going to be up to the voters. previously, losing candidates conceded quickly even if it was bitter for them, i'm thinking about richard nixon in1960, but mrtrump said a very different president. is this damaging? yes, in a word. we don't necessarily need to rely on the concession for the mechanics to work themselves out. there is no doubt in my mind that i january 20, as is given under our law thatjoe biden will be inaugurated and will become the 46 president, but in the meantime, this continuing to rage against the process, deprecating how the elections were run, the fact that they do they were fair, taking down taking down with him election officials of all parties, both democrats and republicans

and neither, and castigating their work is sowing a lot of damage that future presidents, the future leaders will have to contend with, trying to teach millions of americans to believe in an alternative reality that an election was stolen, that was actually perfectly fairly run, can't help but limit the willingness of americans to participate in the next election. one term presidents don't usually redefine the office of the presidency, as far as i can think. will he? i think he will redefine the office, not always he has tested a lot of what we formally understood to be pretty unbreakable norms, and know now that they are very breakable if the person in charge wants to break them. he has also tested the party system in america, and we have had a formal paper separation of powers between the executive and the legislature, and thejudiciary, and now, it seems that congress under republican rule has entirely acquiesced in

what was a very unconventional and occasionally unlawful presidency. they have redefined the branches in relationship to each other and that is also not necessarily something to be celebrated. formula one driver romain grosjean has escaped serious injury after a horror crash at the bahrain grand prix. his car smashed into a barrier during the first lap of the race. the vehicle split in half with the front part bursting into flames. grosjean was taken to hospital with minor burns. joe wilson reports. the bahrain grand prix begins. 20 cars race, each with a halo, a titanium bar protecting the cockpit, protecting romain grosjean. and a big fire there! fla mes insta ntly surrounded the driver. that should not happen. it will be part of the investigation. but with medics attending, grosjean, hands burning on the metal, was able to force his own way out, an escape which seemed

miraculous. grosjean was able later in hospital to reflect how the ca r‘s improvements had saved his life. just wanted to say i am ok. well, sort of ok. thank you very much for all the messages. i mean, i wasn't for the halo some years ago, but i think it's the greatest thing that we've brought to formula 1. and without it, i wouldn't be able to speak to you today. at the circuit, the teams watched the replays. lewis hamilton tweeted that the crash was a reminder of the risk, the extreme danger that's still there. as soon as the grand prix resumed, another collision, a car upturned. lance stroll was the driver pulled out unharmed. a safety car finally led the racers home after another incident. lewis hamilton won, but 20 drivers came to bahrain, 20 lived to drive again. joe wilson, bbc news. geoff bodine is a former

nascar driver. he says it was fortunate the accident didn't result in more serious injury. the one thing that we really fear in auto racing is fire and it was amazing that he was able to get himself out of the car and get across the wall and i guess in fairly good shape, but if he was knocked unconscious, it would have been a whole different situation so thank god he was not knocked unconscious. you god he was not knocked unconscious. you are god he was not knocked unconscious. you are what people know what this is alike, you were injured 20 years ago, andi you were injured 20 years ago, and ijust you were injured 20 years ago, and i just looked back you were injured 20 years ago, and ijust looked back at the footage, it is extremely frightening to watch 20 years later, tell us what happened and how you managed to get through it. it was a spectacular crash, it was really a good crash, spectacular. nascar‘s safety systems worked really well, it

kept me from going into the grandstand and killing people, people were injured from debris, but no—one heard seriously, and of course the vehicle i was in was completely, top was ripped off, the front was torn off, so i am very blessed to be alive, the lord definitely save me that day, everyone who saw the accident thought i was gone, but no question the lord save me. we had all the safety equipment, a modern—day seat i had developed me in place, the seat i had developed me in place, the seatbelt all work, their helmet, if you see videos, you will see things bouncing off my head so without that fullfa ce bouncing off my head so without that fullface helmet i would have been injured much more than i was. i didn't knowl could call it a spectacular crash, and i now will, with your permission. does the crash like the one you had make you scared about getting behind the wheel again? no, no, if you are

scared, stay home. like you had just a little earlier, we climb into those cars and we know the risks we are taking. we feel co mforta ble risks we are taking. we feel comfortable in the car, we make sure all the safety equipment is there and nascar really has done a greatjob of all that, just like formula 1, so you climb ina just like formula 1, so you climb in a car, feel safe and you know that something can happen and if you race long enough, itjust happen and if you race long enough, it just might. happen and if you race long enough, itjust might. formula 1 made a number of safety improvements over the years, it used to lose drivers all the time back in the 70s. have they got the right measure now between risk and safety? it appears so. the halo, a lifesaver for sure. nascar did away with the guard rails, putting on a wall system, a soft war, if the car hit the wall it compresses a little bit, take that initial energy out of the crash so that really

helps in nascar, nascar are very happy, and when i was involved in my crash in 2000 i was going about hundred and 90 miles an hour, so it was quite a hardhead, may be why i got knocked out. he was the man behind the mask, playing darth vader in the original star wars films, and co—stars and fans have been remembering the actor david prowse, who's died at the age of 85. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba looks back at his journey from bristol to one of hollywood's most successful franchises. at 66", with a towering figure, dave prowse was physically perfect for the part of darth vader in the original star wars trilogy in the 1970s and 1980s. looks like you two need a lesson in crossing the road. at the same time, he was also the face of road safety, presenting videos and visiting hundreds of schools as the green cross code man. we won't be there when you cross the road, so always use.. the green cross code.

when i became darth vader, or at least when the star wars film came out, i almost got the sack from the government, because they thought that my image as darth vader would have a detrimental effect on my image as the green cross code man. a champion body—builder, he eventually tried acting. as darth vader, he had the bulk, he had the build, but he also had a bristol accent. bristol accent: you are part of the rebel alliance and a traitor. take her away. went when the first film came out, he found his voice had been replaced by the now familiar booming tones of james earljones. start tearing the ship apart... ..until you've found those plans, and bring me the passengers. i want them alive. mark hamill, who played luke skywalker, led the tributes, calling him much more than darth vader, describing him as "actor, husband, father, "member of the order of the british empire "weightlifting champion, safety icon, "a man who loved his fans as much as they loved him."

..i am your father. he may never have been the voice behind the villain, but the man behind the mask of darth vader is how he'll always be remembered. for so many, he played the most iconic cinema villain ever seen. the actor david prowse, who's died at the age of 85 a mysterious metal object which was discovered in the utah desert last week, has now vanished. the discovery of the silver object captured the national interest, with people questioning how it ended up there. well, we may never get an answer, as utah officials say the structure is no longer there. tom brada reports. standing at more than 12 feet tall and shimmering in contrast to the red desert science, a strange object discovered in utah last week is shrouded in mystery. and that mystery has only deepened as now, it has disappeared.

known as the utah monolith, this was the moment it was found. the intrepid explorers go down to investigate the alien life form. evidence of light beyond this planet? orsimply an intriguing work of art? the curious structure sparked a national guessing game with people desperate to work out what it was and how it got there. who does this kind of stuff? before long people were setting out to see it for themselves, some travelling more than nine hours to see it in the desert. now, hardly two weeks later and the object has vanished. there were several people working out of the wash that leads to the location, and before we were there somebody had mentioned by the way, it's not there anymore, and we were heartbroken,

we were like "no!" but it was still called to see the small piece that was left and to see the actual location, and just the beauty of everything around it. it's unclear how the structure first got there and it's equally unclear where it has gone. the utah bureau of land management denies removing the object, and released a statement saying... now, with just a small piece of the original structure left, and a pile of rocks in the sand, it seems like the mystery of the utah monolith may never be solved. it may not be solved until the artist comes forward and says i did it. one viewer suggested it may be the intrepid impression

of the artist banksy. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @james bbc news. hello there. there was some sunshine around on sunday across south wales, south—west england. some areas saw temperatures of 15 degrees. for many, though, it was another one those dull and gloomy sort of days. but the weather is changing and that's happening now. these weather fronts coming down from the north—west, bringing patchy rain southwards on monday, the breeze picking up and blowing away that area of high pressure that's brought all the gloom during recent days. so, a frost—free start, but still quite gloomy in the south. the mist and fog are lifting as that patchy rain heads its way southwards. the rain affecting the hills in the west, little rain or no rain across southern parts of england. and in the afternoon, we get some sunshine after the rain in scotland and one or two showers. here, those temperatures start to drop away, mind you, but elsewhere, we stay in the mild air. temperatures 9, 10 or 11 degrees. that patchy rain continues to work its way southwards during monday evening, clearing away for most areas,

but still a hangback of cloud out towards the west. but with clearer skies across central and eastern parts of the uk, we're going to find a frost across eastern scotland and the north—east of england. that colder air has come down in a northerly breeze, behind the weather front bringing the patchy rain. but out to the west, the air is very different. this is much milder air, and it comes with a lot of cloud. and that milder cloudy air will topple its way steadily in from the atlantic into the uk and it will bring a little light rain or drizzle. but through the midlands, across lincolnshire, east anglia and the south—east, we're going to hang onto the sunshine — some welcome sunshine. not a bad day here, temperatures of 8 or 9 degrees. quite a cold day across eastern scotland and the north—east of england. further west, temperatures may make double figures. it's a fairly quiet day on tuesday, but there's another weather front heading our way on wednesday. this one again won't bring very much rain at all. it's more a broad area of cloud that's moving down across england and wales.

and then behind that, towards the north—west, we get some sunshine, the wind picks up and we get some showers. gales in the north—west of scotland, and over the highlands, there may be some sleet or snow as it turns colder. 5 degrees here. further south and east, highs of 8 or 9. the weather is set to change later on in the week. low pressure is returning, stronger winds, some rain at times. not only that, but it will be feeling a lot cooler.

this is bbc news, the headlines: america's leading infectious disease expert, anthony fauci, has issued a warning about a surge of coronavirus cases. mr fauci says the severe outbreak is likely to get worse in the next few weeks due to millions travelling home after the thanksgiving holiday and the run up to christmas. donald trump has attacked the fbi and the us department of justice, accusing them of working against him in his efforts to overturn the result of the presidential election. he was speaking in his first interview since joe biden was declared the winner more than three weeks ago. the united nations says a deadly attack on farmers in the borno state of nigeria, was the most violent assault on civilians this year. the humanitarian agency estimates at least 110 civilians were killed by suspected islamist militants. many of the victims were tending to crops when it happened.