we've learned, again, that democracy is precious, democracy is fragile and at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed. cheering and applause on capitol hill in washington dc, joe biden is sworn in as president of the united states and the trump era is over. ijoseph robinette bidenjr. do solemnly swear... as he pledged to defend the constitution, he urged americans to overcome their differences, in the search for unity. my whole soul is in this — bringing america together, uniting our people, uniting our nation and i ask every american tojoin me in this cause. applause on her way to the white house after the ceremony was kamala harris,

the first woman, and the first black american, and the first person of south asian descent to become vice—president. as for president trump, he'd already left washington hours earlier, telling supporters that he'd be back. we'll have details of the day's ceremony, the new president's message, and the work he's already started in the oval office in the past hour. also tonight... as the number of covid deaths reaches another record, we visit a hospital in derby to talk to staff about the battle they're waging. and — severe flood warnings in greater manchester, as storm christoph brings chaos and homes are evacuated. and in half an hour on the bbc news channel, join me, kasia madera, for global reaction to today's events and a look at tomorrow's international front pages.

good evening. joe biden has been sworn in as the 46th president of the united states in a ceremony on capitol hill in washington dc — the very place stormed by supporters of donald trumpjust a fortnight ago. with that violence still fresh in people's minds, there was unprecedented security and far fewer people than usual because of the pandemic. the new president declared that democracy had prevailed, as he pledged to defend the constitution, while urging americans to overcome their differences in the search for unity. at mr biden�*s side, his vice—president, kamala harris — the first woman, the first black american, and first person of south asian descent to hold the nation's second highest office. conspicuous by his absence was the outgoing president, donald trump, who'd flown to florida earlier in the day,

while promising his fans to be "back in some form". we'll be looking at the new president's agenda and what it means for us relations with the rest of the world, but we start with the events of the day with our north america editor, jon sopel. donald trump left the white house for the last time this morning. after that, an army of cleaners went into spruce the place up and about an hour ago, into spruce the place up and about an hourago, joe into spruce the place up and about an hour ago, joe biden arrived, with his own broom to sweep away a lot of the trump era policies. the change is going to be profound. so far, so normal. ladies and gentlemen. _ so far, so normal. ladies and gentlemen, the _ so far, so normal. ladies and i gentlemen, the president-elect so far, so normal. ladies and - gentlemen, the president-elect of gentlemen, the president—elect of the united states. this gentlemen, the president-elect of the united states.— the united states. this is what america does _ the united states. this is what america does every _ the united states. this is what america does every four - the united states. this is what america does every four years| the united states. this is what. america does every four years but everything today was exceptional given the last two weeks, given the pandemic and the security situation, given the presidency that was ending. at first glance, the west of

the vtb capital looks much as it always does but look towards the washington monument and the normal forest of people has been replaced by a garden of flags. a socially distance to inauguration for a nation tiering itself apart. the oath of office, taken by the man who is now tasked with healing the nation's wounds. i do is now tasked with healing the nation's wounds. i do solemnly square- -- _ nation's wounds. i do solemnly square... that _ nation's wounds. i do solemnly square... that i _ nation's wounds. i do solemnly square... that i will— nation's wounds. i do solemnly square... that i will faithfully l square... that i will faithfully execute the _ square... that i will faithfully execute the i _ square... that i will faithfully execute the i will _ square... that i will faithfully execute the i will faithfully i execute the i will faithfully execute. ., ' . execute the i will faithfully execute. ., , , ., execute. the office of president of the united states. _ execute. the office of president of the united states. the _ execute. the office of president of the united states. the platform i the united states. the platform where he stood two years ago was the staging post for the assault on congress, mob ruled. today, democracy had come through but it was a close run thing. we democracy had come through but it was a close run thing.— was a close run thing. we have learned, again, _ was a close run thing. we have learned, again, that _ was a close run thing. we have| learned, again, that democracy was a close run thing. we have i learned, again, that democracy is precious, democracy is fragile and at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed. he at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed-— at this hour, my friends, democracy has revailed. . ~ . , has prevailed. he warned america was in the midst —

has prevailed. he warned america was in the midst of— has prevailed. he warned america was in the midst of a _ has prevailed. he warned america was in the midst of a winter— has prevailed. he warned america was in the midst of a winter apparel - has prevailed. he warned america was in the midst of a winter apparel and i in the midst of a winter apparel and as any new president... a pandemic, racial unrest and the passions inflamed by donald trump's insistence the election was stolen. today, on this january day, my whole soul is in this. bringing america together, uniting our people, uniting our nation and i ask every american tojoin me in uniting our nation and i ask every american to join me in this uniting our nation and i ask every american tojoin me in this course. joe biden never mentioned donald trump by name but it was a firm repudiation of everything he stood for that he was careful to reach out to the former president's supporters. to the former president's sunporters-_ to the former president's supporters. to the former president's su orters. ~ , , . supporters. we must end this civil war that pits _ supporters. we must end this civil war that pits red _ supporters. we must end this civil war that pits red against _ supporters. we must end this civil war that pits red against blue, - war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. we can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening

our hearts. that open our souls instead of hardening our hearts. �* j~ , . , open our souls instead of hardening our hearts. �* fig . , ., open our souls instead of hardening ourhearts. �* fig . , ., our hearts. at 78 years old, joe biden becomes _ our hearts. at 78 years old, joe biden becomes the _ our hearts. at 78 years old, joe biden becomes the oldest - our hearts. at 78 years old, joe biden becomes the oldest man| our hearts. at 78 years old, joe i biden becomes the oldest man to become president but the real history is being made by his deputy, kamala harris, the first woman vice president, the first of black and indian heritage, an example of the american dream. 50 indian heritage, an example of the american dream.— american dream. so help me god. applause though covid has brought drabness, this inauguration had sparkle, with lady gaga complete with gold microphone singing the national anthem. # at the twilight has not lastly mean... and jennifer lopez, two. # lets get loud. the political great and good were out in force, three former presidents in attendance, republican and democrat and former vice

president mike pence was there as well, choosing the inauguration over a rival attraction a few miles away and that is because donald trump had decided to break with 150 years of tradition and snubjoe biden. normally, the outgoing president meets the successor at the front door and rides with him to the capital but mr trump was slipping out the back, still incapable of accepting he lost the election. though the former reality tv has turned film director orchestrated his own departure. he awarded himself a military sendoff, complete with 21 gun salute and his parting shot will have delighted his supporters and horrified his detractors. supporters and horrified his detractors-— supporters and horrified his detractors. �* _ ., detractors. and goodbye, we love ou, we detractors. and goodbye, we love you. we will _ detractors. and goodbye, we love you. we will be — detractors. and goodbye, we love you, we will be back _ detractors. and goodbye, we love you, we will be back in _ detractors. and goodbye, we love you, we will be back in some - detractors. and goodbye, we love | you, we will be back in some form. and the music was spot on as he flew off on air force one for the last time. # it was my way... #.

by # it was my way... #. by the time now ex—president trump arrived in florida, maloney went from sombre black to beach club chic. never comfortable in washington, she might find the transformation a whole lot easier than her husband. joe biden is now in the white house and he wants to hit the ground running. there will be a flurry of executive orders to reverse a lot of trump era policies but policy always change with a new president. what will be so different is the manner of governing. crazy town is likely to be replaced by dullsville but maybe that is what america needs right now. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. by now, after several hours of ceremonial events, president biden is heading for the oval office, where he's expected to get to work by signing up to 17 executive orders,

presidential directives which can take effect immediately. the aim is to begin reversing key parts of the trump agenda on the environment, on immigration and on diversity. but top of the agenda will be a more focused approach to dealing with the pandemic which has already claimed the lives of 400,000 americans. alongside that will be initiatives to stimulate the us economy, which has lost more than 10 million jobs over the past year. back to the white house and jon sopel. can we talk about the pandemic and how will be biden approach differ to the trump approach? weill. how will be biden approach differ to the trump approach?— the trump approach? well, i think that what we _ the trump approach? well, i think that what we saw _ the trump approach? well, i think that what we saw from _ the trump approach? well, i think that what we saw from donald - the trump approach? well, i think. that what we saw from donald trump was an inconsistency. sometimes he was an inconsistency. sometimes he was following the science, sometimes he was following his gout, other times he was following what business people wanted. —— his gut fist of

joe biden will be more focused on the science and wants to see the whole apparatus of the american state to get behind the vaccine roll—out which has been stuttering so far. it has been called operation warp speed, it has felt a lot more slow than that. he also wants to see a mask mandate so many more people are wearing masks when out and about as a way of cutting the infection rate. that is what he is going to do on that but he also kind of want that to bleed through to what happens in the economy, a stimulus programme as well. as you say, and doing a lot of the trump era policies on immigration from the many muslim countries, a pathway to citizenship for people who have come across the border from citizenship for people who have come across the borderfrom mexico citizenship for people who have come across the border from mexico and from latin america. so those are some of the things he is going to want to do. it is still going to be on a knife edge getting votes through the senate, where it is a 50-50 through the senate, where it is a 50—50 split with kamala harris having the casting vote. so there is a huge agenda but don't believe it is going to be easy. there will be formidable obstacles and joe biden�*s

way. we formidable obstacles and joe biden's wa . ~ ., ~' formidable obstacles and joe biden's wa . ~ . ~ ., ., way. we will talk at the moment about other _ way. we will talk at the moment about other parts _ way. we will talk at the moment about other parts of _ way. we will talk at the moment about other parts of the - way. we will talk at the moment about other parts of the agenda | way. we will talk at the moment. about other parts of the agenda but thank you for that for now. donald trump lost the election despite winning more than 70 million votes, the second highest total in us history, and the concerns and frustrations of his supporters were very much in the president biden�*s mind when he asked trump voters to give him a chance, to see what he could do — all part of the message of unity that mr biden delivered today. but as our correspondent aleem maqbool discovered in texas, the new president has set himself a very daunting task. the inauguration here is marked by an upturned flag, so convinced is eric braden that donald trump somehow had the election stolen from him. copy that, guys, i appreciate y'all very much. southern patriot council. eric's been so angry, he's been leading his right—wing militia onto the streets. today, we're coming here to the capitol in austin,

for many reasons. none of them good. back in his trailer home, he tells me he'll never accept joe biden as president and that, for him, the inauguration is a signal that his country is dying before his very eyes. the stars & stripes outside is upside down. in distress. yes, sir. yeah. it is. we are... america is deeply in distress and we are on the moment and the brink of complete division, and... which looks like what? division? what it looks like is states like texas, that actually have the legal right to leave the union, will do that. that's fanciful, but it is an indication of the strength of feeling there is. the assault on the us capitol has illustrated to many americans the extent to which the right is prepared to go to lodge its protest. it's continuing to do so at state capitals across the country. but the events of the last year have

shown that the left in america is also prepared to disrupt and make its presence felt. last summer, they were roused into action not by misinformation from a president but the killing of george floyd. protest leaderjay gutierrez fears he'll be arrested many more times fighting white supremacy in america, especially now, as he sees it, the white has been emboldened. well, there's going to be, you know, chaos in some way. there's going to be uprisings from their end, there's going to continue to be uprisings from our end, of wanting to see change and wanting to see justice prevail. so, i just think that you're going to see that intensify. i don't think in any way, shape orform, biden winning, i don't see, you know, there to be peace from this point. others on the left say the issues of inequality and poverty are ones that will keep them fighting, too.

eric and his militia mate tim wanted to show off their preparedness for the battles they're expecting. explosion. yee—ha! he chuckles. oh, yeah, we've got a problem. it was a bit of a game, but one that ended up starting a fire that quickly spread. what the coming months bring... hey, get that water hose! ..may not be as comical or as easy to contain. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in texas. after the trump administration's turbulent four years on the global stage, president biden declared today that america would rebuild its international alliances, as world leaders sent their congratulations and good wishes to the new president. china and russia will have their own pressing reasons for assessing the new president's priorities, as will the uk. we'll hear from john sudworth in beijing and steve rosenberg in moscow in a moment, but first to our political editor laura kuenssberg at westminster.

well, uk prime ministers like to see american presidents as their diplomatic best friend. the two nations have a partnership that goes back for so long with unrivalled working, particularly when it comes to security and defence. and when that friend is unconventional and unpredictable, as was donald trump, that can make for some very awkward political moments. so for the government today, it's a positive turning of the page. now, that's in part becausejoe biden�*s being clear — he wants to work with international groups, like nato, so important to the uk and its place on the world stage. but it's also seen as a positive because in number 10, they believe thatjoe biden cares about some of the issues where borisjohnson really wants to make a difference — on climate change, for example. the prime minister today said it's a step forward, a positive day for america after a bumpy time but less diplomatically, one former minister

told me that the uk might lose some exclusivity but they would gain predictability and the whole thing would be less cringeworthy. it's sure that there'll be fewer fireworks and less drama, perhaps, in the relationship between the two countries but tonight, the sense in the government is that the uk's gaining a more dependable friend. on the face of it, donald trump has been a nightmare for china, hitting it with a trade war, trolling it over his allegations that the virus leaked from a laboratory here, and sanctioning its companies over their links to the human rights abuses in xinjiang. but willjoe biden be any better? not only is his incoming administration continuing trump's tough on china rhetoric, he's promising to rebuild alliances with democratic countries in europe and beyond, to better contain beijing. but there's something else, too.

in donald trump, china saw the tantalising prospect of a crisis in democratic values, a decline in american power and a vacuum on the global stage into which it could step. in short, the chaos and confusion of donald trump made china's rulers feel good about themselves and their system and for that, they may well come to miss him now he's gone. there's little doubt that the kremlin would have preferred four more years of donald trump in the white house. the chaos and division in america that characterised his presidency and the weakening of the western alliance — all of that was welcomed here in moscow. plus, donald trump almost never criticised vladimir putin in public, butjoe biden is a vocal kremlin critic. he's already said that for america, russia is the greatest threat. so, moscow is bracing

itself for more sanctions. and when it comes to putin—biden, don't expect much personal chemistry. joe biden once recalled his visit to moscow in 2011, when he was vice president, and the story goes that he looked vladimir putin in the eye and concluded that mr putin has no soul and he told him that. hardly the ingredients for a beautiful friendship. but i think there will be a degree of pragmatism on both sides, which could help to secure agreements on key pressing issues, like extending a key nuclear arms control treaty that expires in a few days' time. let's return now to jon at the white house. people talking about a new american presence on the world stage, how do you think that will manifest itself? what you are going to see is a return to the consensus foreign policy that we have had from previous american presidents broadly

speaking since the wall, but you support the multilateral institutions like nato and the world trade organization and the world health organization which donald trump pulled america out of, like the climate change agreement which joe biden would like america to rejoin, and the keyword was used by laura, predictability, joe biden will be fairly predictable, and he has surrounded himself by technocrats who know their subjects in the key positions. that said, joe biden is going to focus on america, remember how close america came to a kind of overthrow of congress unbelievably just two weeks kind of overthrow of congress unbelievablyjust two weeks ago? there are still wounds from that and there would be an impeachment trial of donald trump in the senate, and there is an awful lot of healing that needs to go on in america and i think that is going to be the focus of his activities even though on the world stage it may be a more familiar america that the world is dealing with. familiar america that the world is dealing with-—

let's turn to the day's other main news. the number of covid deaths recorded in the past 24—hours was more than 1,800, that's yet another record since the pandemic began. but more than 11.5 million people across the uk have now received their first dose of a vaccine. the pressure on the nhs is still extreme and our latest report on hospital staff this week is from the royal derby hospital. our medical editor fergus walsh, producer nicki stiasny, and camera journalist rob taylor complied this report. i've been in nursing for 33 years, and i have never seen anything like this. in all honesty, it is physically and emotionally exhausting. i don't think anyone feels that i we've seen the worst of this yet. if we carry on in this trajectory, we'll be completely overwhelmed in a couple of weeks. the warnings keep coming, and notjust from london.

this is the royal derby hospital. nearly half its patients have covid. paul robinson is 50. he's terrified. i had an horrendous night, and i messaged my wife this morning just to say that i wasn't sure if i was going to survive. we've just bought ourselves a new beautiful bungalow, which we're supposed to be moving into. and it's our dream. and i may not see it. the intensive care unit has doubled in size and is still growing, but they've already had to transfer some critically ill patients to other hospitals. this time, — it's been a perfect storm, really, of the new variant's arrived, we've hit winter at just the wrong time, christmas has arrived at exactly the worst time it could have done, and there'sjust been a steady, inexorable rise of cases. we are still on the upramp

of patients coming through. check the length on| the remaining lines. caring for those patients places huge demands on staff. one, two, three, roll. every icu uses this procedure, proning — turning patients on their front to help their breathing. this is the very definition of intensive care. all over the country, there are medical teams like this one trying to keep thousands of covid patients alive. all that and coping with other winter pressures as well. there is light amid the darkness. treatments are getting better — steroids and some arthritis drugs have greatly improved the chances of survival. but to provide care, you need staff. so many are off sick, those left are drained. on one shift, nurses had to

walk past covid deniers demonstrating outside the hospital. we've got staff who are absolutely exhausted and traumatised, a lot of staff are struggling with their mental health. the nurses are coming in and working extremely hard. a lot of them are doing extra shifts, they're all exhausted. and then to see protesters saying it's not real, for the nurses then to come in. those on the covid front line say if the public could see through their eyes, they'd take more care. it's not a hoax, it's very real, people are dying daily within the hospital, and i myself have held the hand of patients that are dying within the department. i think people need to take it a little bit more seriously, and i don't think they're aware of the impact. the emergency department has separate entrances for covid and non—covid patients. like scores of other hospitals across the uk, they're approaching their limits. if we reach a point where the hospital is so full

that we can't get patients out the emergency department in a timely fashion, the whole system down here comes to a halt, and that's when we start holding patients on ambulances, that's where we start to see the real risks of patient harm creeping up in the emergency department. there is a path out of the pandemic via the vaccine, but the benefits won't be felt here for many weeks. for now, hospitals are bracing for worse to come. fergus walsh, bbc news, derby. we will talk to fergus in just a moment. let's have a look at today's data. and the latest government coronavirus figures show there were 38,905 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period which means that on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 112,026. as you can see, that number is falling. across the uk an average of 39,068 people were in hospital

with coronavirus over the seven days to sunday, including suspected cases in wales. 1,820 deaths were reported, that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. as we've heard, that's the biggest single total reported so far. on average in the past week, 1,218 deaths were announced every day. the total number of deaths so far across the uk is 93,290. let's get an update on the uk's programme of mass vaccinations. 315,163 people have had theirfirst dose of one of the three approved covid—i9 vaccines in the latest 2a hour period. that's the most yet in a day. it takes the overall number of people who've had their firstjab to 4,609,740. our medical editor fergus walsh is here. in europe, you spoke to staff and

those involved and you said, braced for it worse to come, what did you mean by that? —— in your report. the mean by that? -- in your report. the a- allin: mean by that? —— in your report. tue: appalling record mean by that? —— in your report. tte: appalling record death mean by that? —— in your report. t'te: appalling record death toll mean by that? —— in your report. tte: appalling record death toll today surpassing another record yesterday, each one is someone being mourned tonight by family and friends, and the uk has the highest covid death toll in europe, the fifth highest in the world, and it underlines yet again that with this new transmissible variant we are in a more precarious and more fragile position in terms of controlling the virus than at any time in the pandemic. many of those who have recently died who have been affected around christmas time but it wasn't until the end of december and early january that we saw that huge surge in cases and that is onlyjust beginning to feed into the daily death toll. at some point in the next few weeks we should mercifully

passed the peak but the members dying and in hospital are going to remain a very significant throughout winter, but the one service is that the protective effect of vaccinating the protective effect of vaccinating the most vulnerable will before long you begin to have a positive impact —— the one solace. you begin to have a positive impact -- the one solace.— -- the one solace. fergus walsh, thanks for— -- the one solace. fergus walsh, thanks forjoining _ -- the one solace. fergus walsh, thanks forjoining us. _ the prime minister borisjohnson has chaired another meeting of the government's emergency cobra committee to discuss the continued threat posed by storm christoph. the emergency services in south yorkshire and greater manchester have already declared major incidents. people living in the north west, yorkshire and the midlands are being urged to prepare for the risk of significant flooding with up to 2,000 homes being evacuated in didsbury. judith mortitz is there tonight. while there are more than 300 flood alerts and warnings across england, there are nowjust four of alerts and warnings across england, there are now just four of the alerts and warnings across england, there are nowjust four of the most severe level, two of those were

declared in the last few minutes and they are on merseyside, and the other is at didsbury where i am, and the environment agency has told us that this is the area where 2000 or so properties are being evacuated. we have seen people leaving here but also other residents and they are going to chance it and they are moving things upstairs and there is also concern generally around how you manage an evacuation during a pandemic. manchester city council has reassured people, they say firstly that if you leave your home here under order to evacuate you are not in breach of covid legislation if you go to stay with family or friends, and secondly there is a covid secure rest sense of the people who feel that is the best option, that is in wythenshawe, and sadly they say if you are clinically extremely vulnerable or having to self—isolate at the moment, and find yourself in a situation where you

may need to evacuate, that there are other accommodation options which the council are helping to coordinate. a range of different possibilities and you can see as well that the snow is falling heavily and of the river mersey behind me has extremely high levels, racing past. expected to peak at around 11 o'clock tonight but it is notjust here in manchester where people have been taking precautions against flooding, or the rivers run yorkshire have been running high and in york the river there is expected to peak tomorrow and they have put extra flood defences in. problems as well on the roads in cleveland and rotherham, the train station closed because of flooding, a range of problems all over the place, but this in south manchester it seems to be ready at the epicentre of where people are being told, 2000 homes, to get out. people are being told, 2000 homes, to net out. , people are being told, 2000 homes, to net out. . people are being told, 2000 homes, to net out. , . ., to get out. judith, thanks for “oininu to get out. judith, thanks for joining us- — your bbc local radio station will keep you up to date

on storm christoph where you live. you can listen via bbc sounds. updates on bbc news online. let's return to our main story, the inauguration in washington dc, which involved not only the president, but also the new vice—president. 56—year—old kamala harris is the first woman, the first black american, and first person of south asian descent to hold that position. our correspondent lebo diseko joins us from the white house. ladies and gentlemen, the vice president—elect of the united states, kamala devi harris... it took nearly 250 years for america to reach this moment, for a woman to hold the second highest office in the country. i, kamala devi harris, do solemnly swear... ..that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states. that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states.