welcome to bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: the us senate over—rides donald trump's presidential veto for the first time, just weeks before he leaves office. more than 20 million coronavirus cases now recorded in the us. with over 350,000 deaths, the country has the highest numbers in the world. scientists confirm the new variant of the coronavirus first identified in the uk is the "most serious change in the virus since the epidemic began". rescue teams in norway recover a body after wednesday's landslide. nine other people are missing. the rush to buy goods in cuba — price hikes are possible as the country abolishes one of its currencies.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the republican—controlled us senate has overturned president trump's veto of a $740 billion defence bill, handing the republican president the first veto defeat of his presidency weeks before he leaves office. seeing then on this vote the ayes are 81, the nays are 13. two—thirds of the senators voting, the quorum being present. having voted in the affirmative, the bill on reconsideration is passed. the objections of the president of the united states to the contrary notwithstanding. mr trump had criticised a clause that would lead to the removal of the names of confederate generals from us military bases. the move is seen as a humiliating rebuke of the president. evelyn farkas is a former deputy assistant secretary

of defense in the 0bama administration. i asked her what she thought about this vote. well, i think it shows a couple of things. first of all, obviously with the loss of the presidential election, donald trump has lost power. he no longer has any real influence, with one exception, of course, there were some people who did vote with him, vote to hold up his veto, and those other people who want his political base to support them. —— and those are the people who want his political base to support them. so there are some republican politicians over whom he has some influence, but he has lost a lot of influence. the other thing it shows us is that this bill is really important and there are very strong political constituencies that are stronger than president trump that allied to keep this bill on track and have it pass. that's interesting. you are someone who knows probably more about this bill than most, why is it so sacrosanct there? yeah, so i should say there's another part of my resume —

for seven years, i worked on the senate armed services committee, essentially helping, as a senior staffer, put together this bill. it's the annual defence authorisation bill, it authorises the $741 billion coming up for next year, and also provides authority to the department of defence —— and also provides authority to the department of defense and the department of energy in the case of the nuclear arsenal. why is it important? because it pays the military salaries, the salaries of our military personnel and civilians, included in here was a pay raise. it also covers the cost of running military installations and bases. practically every state has a base or a military installation, so you can see, there is a lot of political support for this bill in the american society. well, given that, why do you think donald trump chose to veto it? well, there was a provision in there that was introduced by senator elizabeth warren — one of his political nemeses or enemies — and that provision called for renaming ten

different military facilities — i believe they are all army installations. these installations have names on them right now of confederate war fighters, so people who lost the american civil war but have continued somehow, especially in the south, to be respected in a way that's unusual for the losing side. the white nationalists, of course, they have rallied to the confederate flag and the cause of the lost confederacy because, of course, the confederates were fighting to maintain slavery — which, of course, is white supremacy. and so president trump was pandering to the white supremacists and, frankly speaking, he is, for all intents and purposes, himself a white nationalist and so, he was opposed to that provision introduced by senator warren. but that provision was in the bill and received the support of the majority of the republicans on the committee and in the chamber as well, in the senate and the house.

0k, well, mrtrump clearly had his reasons to veto it and republicans have their very strong reasons to defy president trump. do you think we can learn anything from this outside of this particular bill, or was this just an issue that actually, republicans couldn't possibly turn their back on, or does it signify a slipping away of influence of donald trump? yes, it shows us the latter. so it shows us that there is a limit to this president's influence, that his influence is slipping. now, i would venture to say that if he had vetoed or tried to veto the defense authorisation act in its entirety in the past, he would have also had a problem — although i know he did manage to have his veto prevail in other instances. there are other provisions in this bill that he also didn't like that make it harder for us forces to be removed, for example, overnight from places like afghanistan and syria, but i think it shows demonstrably that the president's power has

weakened substantially and if it weren't for the fact that he still has this hardcore, frankly far—right base, constituency, he wouldn't have had any of the senators standing up for his interests and his prerogatives. 0ur our thanks to farkas there. —— 0urthanks to evelyn farkas there. the united states has passed another unwanted milestone in the coronavirus pandemic — recording more than 20 million cases. that's more than any other country in the world. according to johns hopkins university, there are now 2,007,149 in 346,408 people have lost their lives during the pandemic. on wednesday alone, more than 3,900 people died of covid—19 — a new daily record. so, there are growing concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus after more analysis confirmed it has a much quicker rate of transmission than the original strain. the variant has now been

identified in at least 18 countries around the world after it was originally found here in the uk. its now putting enormous stress on british hospitals. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes reports. it might be a new year but there's no let—up in the pressure on hospitals in london and the south east. a surge in seriously ill covid patients mean staff are being pushed to the limit. intensive care beds are a real pinch point. some patients are being moved from kent to bristol and plymouth, where there's spare capacity. that in itself is not unheard of, but doctors say it shows the pressures they're working under. if the number of cases don't begin to reduce fairly soon — and, indeed, reduce sharply — we would be in a situation where the health care infrastructure — notjust in london but across the entire country — is overwhelmed. and it's not just rising patient numbers. staff themselves are falling ill, meaning resources are getting stretched.

everybody‘s reporting a lot of pressure. everybody is saying that it's really difficult to off—load ambulances because our departments are full because, in turn, our hospitals are full. it's very frustrating because you can't look after patients in the way you want to, and you feel helpless when you know there's a sick patient in an ambulance which you just can't get into a department because there isn't space. in order to provide some relief, the nightingale hospital in london is being made ready for non—covid patients but still, hospitals report the situation remains very difficult. when we are seeing major london trusts, as we've seen in the media today, basically saying they are under real pressure, they are at more than double the normal rate of icu admissions than they would see, and they are turning whole floors into additional icu space, that's when we know we're in a very, very challenging place. this surge in patient numbers is being driven by the new variant of the coronavirus.

it's more contagious and it's affecting more younger people, and it's having an impact not just on hospitals in london and the south east, but right across the country. and new research highlights the impact the new variant of the virus is having on the r number — the rate at which it spreads. under the lockdown, maybe over the course of two to three weeks, the cases would've decreased by something like 30%. but if the new variant is now present, with this increase in the r number, all of a sudden instead of a decrease of 30%, we get a massive increase, the number of cases over the same period could triple. so this is more or less the most serious change in the virus that we've seen since the epidemic began. the best defence against the virus remains maintaining social distance, good hand hygiene and wearing face coverings, but the big concern is that as this new variant spreads, the extreme pressures now evident in london and the south east will soon be seen across the country. dominic hughes, bbc news.

the uk's chief medical officers have defended the covid vaccination plan, after criticism from a doctors‘ union. people will receive the two doses of the oxford and pfizer vaccines 12 weeks apart, although initially the plan was to leave 21 days between the pfizerjabs. the british medical association said cancelling patients booked in for their second doses was "grossly unfair". the government says it's delivered a million doses of the vaccine but some are concerned about the speed of the roll—out. 0ur health correspondent jim reed has more. sara nathan's mother, mary, is in a nursing home. she is due the second dose of her covid vaccination next week. that is now in doubt. we were hoping that we could actually relax with her. she's 89. she may have that much longer. we want to notjust have to see her in the park, to be able to see her inside as well — it's cold! if she had had both vaccines, then we would be able to think, "yeah, 0k, mum, we can get on with looking after you in the way you ought to be looked after, and not worrying that you are going to get this horrible disease."

a million doses of this first vaccine, made by pfizer and biontech, have already been delivered. sharp scratch! it needs to be given in two shots. 0riginally, they were meant to be three weeks apart. now doctors are being told to delay those second appointments, leaving a longer 12—week gap to allow more people to receive theirfirst dose. let's vaccinate as many people as possible and try to get control of this infection. because at the moment, lockdown on its own — i'm sure it's helping — but on its own, it's not controlling the infection. the uk's chief medical officers say that first dose alone provides the great majority of initial protection at a time when there was a global shortage of vaccines. but pfizer says its effectiveness hasn't been tested under the new plan and some doctors think cancelling appointments, often with late notice, is grossly unfair. there are both practical implications, like actually having to have a conversation with over 1,000 patients about the fact that the arrangement you've made no

longer applies and no, you don't know what's going to happen next. but there's also the implications for trust — for trust in us as doctors. next week, hospitals like this one should start to get a second vaccine, designed by scientists from oxford university. it should be easier to store and faster to roll out. but again, only around 500,000 doses will be available on day one — far less than originally thought. the government says tens of millions more jabs will be available by march. getting all those to the vulnerable people who need them will now be crucial as the health service battles the next winter wave of this pandemic. jim reed, bbc news. well, let's get more from dr larisa labzin. she's an immunologist from the university of queensland in brisbane, australia, where she joins us today. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for having me. let's start with the basics, it was touched on a

little in the report but to clarify, some vaccines you get, have one injection and you're on your way and covered but others, you need two. why do you need two jabs at all? well, the immune system is pretty good at recognising foreign things like viruses and bacteria and that is essentially what a vaccine is, trying to trick the immune system into thinking it is then the virus before. but with a lot of these vaccine technologies, because we're only delivering a little bit of that virus into the body, so in the case of pfizer vaccine and also the oxford one, we are delivering the genetic information that encode the spiked protein of the pirates —— virus, that is all we are delivering so while the immune system delivering so while the immune syste m get delivering so while the immune system get some idea of the strain, it is mounting a response but with two shots it mounts a bigger response, meaning we are much more protected. crosstalk. sorry to jump protected. crosstalk. sorry to jump in. that bigger response from the second jab is clearly what we want and we want as

many people as possible to have that so what is your reaction to this delay in spreading out, waiting longer to have the second dose? look, as we pointed out in your report, there is concern because that is not what the trial was and particularly the pfizer vaccine, the data again is after the first shot it only seems to be about 50% effective whereas after the second shot is up to 90% effective, and thatis is up to 90% effective, and that is really what we want, but that is going to be traded off because the devastating situation that you are in and what public health officials have to deal with, which is the limited resources you have, the number of vaccine doses. so what we also know is that probably up to 12 weeks after the initial dose, the second dose should still be really active, meaning that people will be protected for a second time. but they are not going to be as protected what i mean is if they get infected after the first dose, they are not going to be as protected as they were

going to have been had they had the two doses. hoping evenjust with the first dose, even if you get it it will not be as severe as if they had no shot at all. 0k, andjust looking around the world then, this huge task of trying to roll out what will be eventually several different vaccines, but what kind of difference do you think it will make? how big a help will it be to delay this second vaccine and trying to get into more arms of more people more quickly? it is a great question and it is all going to depend on how quickly and efficiently they can manufacture and transport these vaccines which, of course, is not easy. and another question may be whether it is worth trying to combine the two vaccines to give one shot of a pfizer and one shot of the oxford and that may ease things up slightly. that is obviously a decision that the public health authorities need to make themselves. but it is a lwa ys to make themselves. but it is always going to be a big logistical concern and for countries where the pandemic is

really hitting hard, it is a much more difficult conversation to have. there i am here, i think we are a bit more keen to wait until things have been rolled out in other countries first. just because of the fact that we are an island that we can close our borders, that means that we don't have the same level of dramatic pandemic as other areas overseas but of course, it can change very, very quickly and that is why we have lockdowns and we have christmas plans ruined and family plans ruined so we are also keen for a vaccine but perhaps we are not as desperate for one yet and we are willing to see how things go slightly more than you are there. i understand. thank you so much for coming on and great to talk to you, dr larisa labzin. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: after a wait of 26 christmasses, wham!'s festive classic tops the uk singles charts.

the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland, we're going to use money we picked up in belgium today, and then we'll be in france, and again, it'll be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his oxfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good. just good? no, fantastic! that's better! bells toll

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the us senate has over—ridden donald trump's presidential veto for the first time, just weeks before he leaves office. they voted overwhelmingly to approve a defence bill mr trump had blocked. rescuers in norway have found a body in the debris of homes swallowed up by a landslip near 0slo on wednesday. it's the first confirmed fatality. emergency workers managed to get into the crater on foot for the first time but nine people, including children, are still unaccounted for. vince soodin reports it's a race against time.

rescuers are accelerating the search for children, women and men hidden in a huge, dark crater filled with clay. but it's a high—risk operation as the ground is still not safe and workers are surrounded by precarious clay walls. emergency workers have managed to get into the crater on foot for the first time. they have to carry styrofoam boards to spread their weight in areas where ground remains unstable. today, the first body was recovered. translation: we've found one person. unfortunately, they've been confirmed dead. we're working intensively to search the area, and it's a risky search. many are affected by this tragedy. there are people who have lost their houses, everything they own and now, also family members. this father is one of those waiting for news. his girlfriend and 13—year—old daughter are missing. translation: i wish i could switch places with my daughter. she could be here and i could be missing. it is unreal.

i never thought this could happen. a giant army vehicle called a paver has been sent to gjerdrum. it's equipped with a steel bridge in which rescuers can move along, but the ground is still too shaky for the 50—tonne machine to be deployed. a vigil was held for those missing on new year's eve. police have said the search will continue during the night. heavy rainfall is believed to have made the soil under the homes unstable. there will now be questions as to why the construction was permitted in the first place. vince soodin, bbc news. cuba — the only country in the world with two official currencies — has started phasing out one of them. the government is getting rid of the convertible peso to try and improve the economy. but that'll mean soaring prices, worrying many, even though wages are also going up. paul hawkins has more. cu ba ns ca ll cubans call it day zero, the

end of a 26 year 2 currency system. 0ver end of a 26 year 2 currency system. over the next six months, the convertible peso, pegged to the dollar is on its way out stopping the government says it has to go to make the economy more efficient and easier to understand for foreign investors. the only problem is, that leaves people here with the cuban peso and it's worth 24 times less. where, in other words, it's worth 24 times less. where, in otherwords, one it's worth 24 times less. where, in other words, one us dollar equals 24 cuban pesos, meaning prices will raise by 160%. translation: meaning prices will raise by 160%. translationi meaning prices will raise by 160%. translation: i trust it is better than what we have been through. it has been a very difficult year from every point of view, economic, emotional and social so now with these changes i always trust that it will be better and that things that were done had to be done now, they could not wait any longer. to compensate, the government is

raising wages and pension payments, a new salary payment means that teachers, journalists, lion tamer‘s and doctors in training for example will earn the same salary but 80% of people here work the state and many are worried the wage increases won't be enough. translation: we are not prepared, our country, due to the situation, everyone knows that we have been living in for 62 years. having two currencies in the same country, the one that we had, the one that a lwa ys that we had, the one that always existed, the cuban peso, that was always valued in gold, that was always valued in gold, that continues to be the cuban peso. last year, cuba's economy shrank 11%, its worst decline in 27 years. caused by us sanctions and fewer tourists because of the coronavirus pandemic. but the government says reform is needed. short—term pain for long—term gain. wham's last christmas has topped the uk singles chart for the first time, 36 years after it was first released. the festive classic was streamed 9 million times

over the last week. let's have a listen: # last christmas i gave you my heart. # but the very next day you gave it away.# first released in december 1984, george michael and andrew ridgeley‘s song was famously held off the top spot by band aid's do they know it's christmas. it's since returned to the top 10 six times. earlier, iasked richard blade is a dj with sirius xm how he felt when he heard the news. i was thrilled, it's a great song. we play it a lot on sirius xm and i was really shocked, actually, it had never been to number one on the uk charts before. yeah, 36 attempts, i suppose! it is quite the wait, and given what we know of the huge part of the cultural landscape wham and that song is here in the uk every christmas,

what about where you are? same here. it's played on so many channels. sirius xm has been playing it on multiple channels, on first wave on the big 80s, on our christmas channels, and it's one of those songs that people request all the time because they love wham and they love george. and you had quite a good close relationship with the band? i did, i was very, very lucky to know wham from their earliest days. when they first came over in 1982 i had them on my radio show, they did their first—ever live gig with me at the beginning of 1983 and i took them to the 321 club in santa monica, california and that was the first time they played live when they lip synced to young guns and bad boys and then they did it the next night at the club i was doing in westwood. they've got so many hits of course but this particular song is, of course, played at this time of year obviously because it is a christmas song but particularly poignant

since george's death? 0h, absolutely. it is one of those tracks that when you hear it, you think about george, you think about wham and you think about the time of year, it's the perfect track. and what happens now, that it's finally made it after 36 years, do we see it going on and on? could it do the same next year? i think so. i have often said on the radio in america and around the world on sirius xm that the uk charts, to be number one on the bbc at christmas is so important, and i think it could be starting a tradition because they got the movie behind it, last christmas, they've got the song, why not? george michael and wham at number one, it should be a tradition.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. i'm lewis vaughan jones, i'm lewis vaughanjones, this is bbc news. hello there. this cold weather isn't giving up anytime soon. it will stay for the weekend and most of next week. at least for the weekend there'll be quite a lot of sunshine around. mainly across western areas. it'll be cold and some further wintry showers, most of them across the eastern side of the country. the blue air mass indicates that cold air very much with us saturday. northerly winds pushing these showers into scotland, northern ireland and wales. plenty of them starting to go to the east coast of england. a few of them also pushing into the midlands. and there will be a covering of snow in places. but many places staying dry with the sunshine, though it will be cold. those showers start to spread a little bit further inland as we move through saturday night. further sleet and snow in places.

probably the clearest of the skies in western scotland and northern ireland, so here the coldest to start sunday. elsewhere, cold again but with a risk of ice from all the showers. as we head on into sunday, we see high—pressure in the north of the uk, lower pressure to the south and that'll start to drive in eastern and north easterly winds. some subtle changes for part two of the weekend. that will push most of the showers into eastern scotland and in eastern england and they will drive their way a little bit further west through the day and there will be some sleet and snow there, not just at higher ground. probably the best of the sun will be across sheltered western areas and it will be a cold day when you factor in the breeze. head on into monday, a similar set up, the breeze feeding in more clouds and showers to much of england and wales and could see rain and sleet across the south—east. further north, lighter winds

for scotland and ireland, and quite a bit of sunshine around. we have the stronger winds for england and wales particularly along the sea coast and it will feel pretty raw as these temperatures will struggle to get much above three to six degrees. it will feel colder than it suggests. and the blue colours are still with us as we head into next week and you guessed it, yes it is going to stay cold. it will be rather cloudy in places too. quite windy for a time and i think the winds could ease towards the end of the week, but by the end of the week, we could see rain, sleet and snow for some of us.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the us senate has over—ridden donald trump's presidential veto for the first time, just weeks before he leaves office. the republican—controlled senate voted overwhelmingly to approve a defence bill mr trump had blocked. the legislation restricts his powers as commander—in—chief, and is seen as a rebuke to the president. the united states has now recorded more than 20 million cases of covid—19, doubling the number in less than two months. johns hopkins university says nearly 350,000 americans have died with the virus. vaccination is continuing, with more than three million people said to have received jabs. research confirms the new coronavirus variant discovered in the uk has a much quicker rate of transmission. scientists say the variant, now identified in 18 countries around the world is the ‘most serious change in the virus since the epidemic began' —