>> hello, it's 10:00 p.m. in paris. here are our headlines this evening. donald trump bids the presidency goodbye in a prerecorded video where he says he is the first president in decades with no new wars. we will get the latest on that and what is coming with the incoming joe biden team. our correspondent will join us from washington. some of president elect joe biden's nominees appeared before congressional panels tuesday, this beginning the confirmation process that will allow the new administration to get to work. we will bring you more on that. in france, the health minister has said that the coronavirus is

still circulating at a worrying level, but he stopped short of recommending a third national lockdown. this as the country gets used to a 6:00 p.m. curfew, which was brought into effect last saturday. ♪ >> we start in washington, d.c. where the countdown is on for joe biden's inauguration and the end of a tumultuous donald trump presidency. the outgoing president will not participate in wednesday's ceremony at a departure from usualrotocol. donald trump has not been seen in public for a week, but is expected to depart from washington to mar-a-lago ahead of the inauguration. washington, d.c. has been transformed into a fortress with 25,000 national guard on the streets, perimeter fences

erected. we are hearing reports of 12 national guards being suspended after being vetted by the fbi, all of this for a largely virtual swearing-in ceremony with the public not allowed into the national mall. it's get the latest from kedah been gorgeous donnie at the white house. we are hearing the latest information that donald trump has released a prerecorded video. give us a sense of what he is saying in that. report: yes, that announcement came from the white house saying it would be released at 4:00 p.m., this video that the presidt reportedly taped yesterday. it is a farewell message from donald trump, a little bit posting of some of the biggest achievements of his administration. in that message, according to the excerpts we got, he speaks about the fact that he was one

of the presidents who brought back one of the greatest economies in the history of the nation. he also spoke about standing up to chi, about bold diplomacy, and of course he touted those peace deals in the middle east. those were some of the elements donald tru wanted to focus on for his last full day in office. in that video, donald trump twice mentioned a new administration, wishing the administration success, but at no time does he wish -- speak the name of joe biden. of course, there is the final line in that video that is sort of a message to his supporters that this is not the end. he might be leaving the white house, but he says the movement they have created is only just beginning. donald trump, leaving options

open in that video ahead of his departure tomorrow from the white house, from washington, d.c. he will not be attending joe biden's inauguration, the first president to do so since 1869. donald trump was expected to have a small ceremony at joint base andrews before heading off to florida. he's expected to be landing at around 11:00 a.m. is the inaugural ceremony will be getting underway. host: bring us up to speed what is happening on the eve of joe biden swearing in. host: joe biden left delaware earlier this afternoon, coming here to washington, d.c. he had a farewell party to his home state with a short speech but emotional speech in which

joe biden shed a few tears. it was sort of a love letter to his home state of delaware, to all of the things he had achieved thanks to that state, and he talked about how 12 years ago he was picked up by a black man, talking about how barack obama and him went to washington, d.c. to become president and vice president. he said, i am heading from delaware to washington to meet a black woman of south asian dissent to be inaugurated as president and vice president elect. the two of them will be appearing later on today in washington at the lincoln memorial in front of that reflecting pool where there will be a ceremony to honor all of the lives lost here in the united states after this covid ndem as the united states just past the grim milestone of 400,000 deaths.

host: just as we are speaking to you, we are getting live pictures of joe biden arriving into washington, d.c. we can see pictures of his plane that has just landed in washington. he was intending to arrive by train, but with security considerations and a heightened security in the capitol, he has arrived by plane ahead of the event at the lincoln memorial. we will keep you up to speed on all of that as the show continues. for more on what we can expect in joe biden's white house, we can talk to christian hanley, a democratic strategist in washington. think you for joining us on "france 24." we are expecting a flurry of executive orders to undo much of what donald trump's reforms did. are we going to see a return to the obama administration? christian: to the obama administration and the time

before trump more generally speaking. a lot of what donald trump has done is what we have called governance by trolling where he has signed executive orders that have no good or legitimate policy purpose other than to anger his opponents, whether it is permitting drilling or oil expiration in the arctic wildlife refuge or other such ridiculous orders. already, you have the biden administration looking to block the continuation of the construction of the keystone xl pipeline, which would bring canadian tar sands across the united states territory. i think what we are going to see is a return to normal, to the greatest extent that executive orders would permit, and that can come none too soon. host: in terms of a confident return of multilateralism on the

national stage with the paris climate accord -- it looks like that is going to be signed back up, the iran nuclear deal also. we are going to drop you briefly to joe biden leaving his aircraft. we have live pictus of what is going on. just to briefly interrupt you, we have pictures of joe ben stepping off his plane. he flew from wilmington, delaware into the u.s. capital, and here he is, alighti from his aircraft on the people of his inauguration. i was talking about a confident return of multilateralism with the paris climate accord,ran nuclear deal, and other such accords that donald trump turned his nose up at. we are going to see a return to the fray in thategard, are we not?

difficulty compared to the executive orders to overturn trump's actions on an executive order, it's not so easy to reverse the harm that donald trump has done internationally. our relationships with allies and adversaries where you have a now outgoing preside who has done, really has gone above and beyond to snub our closest friends and allies. the fortunate thing is that i hope with a return to normal and the beginning of a biden administraon, we can have better relations with our friends and allies in western europe and canada. when you talk about something like the iran nuclear deal, there's not going to be the same sort of leniency or understanding we might have with our closest friends across the world, and trying to renegotiate deals, as donald trump has

called them, trying to renegotiate agreements with countries that we don't already have that close relationship. that's the kind of ha that will take a lot more time. host: there have been concerns about joe biden's sharpness and overall health, and there is the sense that, harris will have an important role as vice president. what about his stamina, and what of her particularly important role? christian: i have complete confidence in both of them. joe biden is roughly the same age as donald trump. donald trump is in far worse health than joe biden is and has no ability to exercise physically or mentally or maintain any command of the facts on the ground for any given scenario, so we've been through that. when it comes to joe biden, the reports about his mental acuity are overstated. he has a documented history of a speech impediment.

when we watched him then when he was calm and had previously prepared for it, briefed the american public on the intricacies of the different sorts of vaccines from different companies and their distribution thods, his command of the cts was simpressive i had a hard time following along myself. in terms ohis relaonship or choice of vice president,, harris is a blliant attorney, brilliant strategist, and brilliant united states senator. what we will have is a team where it no matter which one is can be confident they haveblic someone there representing their interests in a competent way where as up until now we have had two of the most incompetent people in those positions in living memory. host: do you think america under joe biden will be able to amend its fractures?

it's a badly fractured country right now with, from the outside looking in, two incompatible visions of a future, one much more nationalist, protectionist, a donald trump phenomenon that will not end with his presidency. how can joe biden unify as he claims he wants to do? his speech tomorrow is going to be one of unity. it seems a little bit impossible, to say the least. wh do you say to that? christian: it's not impossible in the long term, but in four years, it is going to be difficult. it's a legitimate question, but a president in a four-year term can't be expected to undo years of this exploitation of our country's oldest and deepest fractures. what we had with donald trump was not just the new iention of regionalismr nationalism, but we had a leader who very

much tapped into those and used those to intentionally divide americans from one another. previous presidents, knowi those fractures existed, did their best to pave over them and bring pele together across those divides. what biden can do ises, use rhetoric to bring people together but in the heat of this moment after the loss of donald trump, that mightot be nearly as effective as simply delivering to the american people what they need in the near future, which is a covid vaccine, which is economic stimulus, b creaon, new economic growth following the end this pandemic. that will do far more for people than just simply rhetoric alone. in terms of healing those fractures, we are talking about a series of steps and policies

that will take years to complete, not just one president or presidential term. host: christian hanley, democratic strategist, thank you for that. still waiting for joe biden to alight from that plane. we will keep you updated. confirmation hearings began in the u.s. senate. five cabinet nominees will answer questions from senate panels handling their confirmations. for more on the present elect's candidate picks, here is charli james. charli: senators returned to the u.s. capitol building for the first time since it was attacked by a mob. security is high as lawmakers get back to work. at the top of the list, confirmation hearings on president-elect joe biden's cabinet. five of biden's nominees began the senate approval process tuesday. among them, treasury nominee janet yellen. the former federal reserve chair would be the first woman in that

job. appearing via video, yellen argued the u.s. needs to open the purse strings. >> the smartest thing we can do is act big. in the long run, i believe the benefits will far outweigh the costs, especially if we care about helping people who have been struggling for a long time. charli: secretary of state nominee antony blinken emphasized he is committed to rebuilding alliances damaged under donald trump and also taking a tougher stance towards adversaries. >> we have to start by approaching china from a position of strength, not weakness. it's a position of strength when we are working with, not denigrating, our allies. charli: most controversial of the group may be defense nominee lloyd austin. needs to obtain a congressional waiver because he has only been out of uniform four years

instead of the seven required by law. he would be the nation's first black defense secretary. biden's cabinet confirmation process has been badly delayed due to congressional republicans stalling in recognizing his election victory. this means biden is likely to be the first president in decades without his national security team in place on day one. host: german chancellor angela merkel and state premiers agreed to extend a lockdown for most shops and schools until february 14 as part of a package of steps to rein in covid-19. a draft document has shown that those plans have been agreed upon. companies must allow employees to work from home until mid-march where possible. we will bring you more details on that as it comes in this evening. here in france, there were a reported number -- 23,600 new

cases of covid-19 on tuesday while admissions two intensive care units have continued to rise. health minister olivier veran said coronavirus is circulating at concerning levels, but stop short of recommending a lockdown. [speaking french] host: kate moody has joined us in studio. let's take a look at joe biden's inauguration and his plans for the u.s. economy. kate: u.s. senators have begun grilling the nominees for some of his top cabinet positions who he hopes will be approved and

put in place as quickly as possible. the former federal reserve chief janet yellen who has been chosen to lead the treasury department defended the $1.9 trillion to mills package by which biden's team hopes to jumpstart the economy. it will include stemless checks for american families, more generous unemployment benefits, and financial aid for local governments, schools, and vaccine distribution. yellen who helped shepherd the u.s. out of its last recession told the finance committee it was essential to protect businesses and households from the worst effects of the pandemic while addressing underlying issues of inequality. >> neither the president elect nor i proposed this relief package without an appreciation for the country's debt burn, but right now with interest rates at historic lows, the smartest thing we can do is act big. in the long run, i believe the benefits will far outweigh the

costs, especially if we care about helping people who have been struggling for a very long time. kate: while the biden ministration will break o reverse ny of the trump administration's policies, it isn't planning a u-turn on the u.s. trade war with cna. yellen said she would try to repair ties with traditional u.s. allies, but that she would hold a hard line against what she called china's abusive, unfair, and illegal practices. the tariffs that haveeen placed on chinese imports are expected to remain in place. yellen address the issue of taxing digital giants, suggesting she would support negotiations on an international framework unlike her predecessor steven mnuchin. investors are betting on that stimulus package passing through congress quickly, so yellen's remarks gave a bit of a boost to wall street. stocks in the u.s. have closed higher. tech companies lead gains,

pushing the nasdaq up 1.5%, the nasdaq -- dow jones rising about 100. we saw the major european indices closing lower. unions have organized protests and a one-day strike at send a fee a day after it confirmed it would cut 400 jobs. the company is planning some 1500 additional job cuts across europe. it has insisted the decision won't impact its ability to create new drugs. sanofi has been working with glaxosmithkline to come up with a vaccine against covid-19. union members protesting outside a lab in france said the job cuts were indicative of the firm's priorities. [speaking french]

kate: the hero star train network is the latest business to warn that the pandemic and brexit have pushed it to the point of bankruptcy. the euro star has seen passenger numbers plummet over the past year. julia: a very critical situation. that is how france's state rail company has described the fortunes of its subsidiary euro star. >> [speaking french] julia: since march, the combined effects of the pandemic and brexit have seen passenger numbers plummet by 95%. at its peak, euro star runs 60

trains a day. that is down to two round-trip services connecting paris to brussels, london, and amsterdam. the company posted losses of over 80% in 2020 and is in survival mode. >> [speaking french] julia: it is difficult to determine who will pay what to rescue euro star because it has several shareholders. france holds a majority 55% stake. 40% is owned by a consortium of british and canadian investors while the remaining 5% belongs to belgium's national railway. euro star has urged governments to give international high-speed rail the same kind of loans airlines have received.

without state aid, it warns it could run out of cash by the summer. kate: very high-stakes, especially for many of us that live in paris. james: that's very true, and people are getting used to those new measures. time for focus next. we bring you a report from india, a country where last september a teenager from the untouchable community was fatally gang raped. the incident ignited age-old debates about india's caste system. before we bring you that, we have the live pictures coming from andrews joint air force base in maryland outside of washington, d.c. that is president-elect joe biden arriving in the washington area on the eve of his inauguration. took quite a while to descend the plane, but he has an entourage with him. one can imagine that they were getting ready to alight from that jet.

he has a live event coming up this evening at the lincoln memorial, and we will be bringing you up to speed with that as the evening continues. we can bring you that focus report. let's take a look. >> in india, one woman is raped every 16 minutes, but one group suffers far more than the rest. the marginalized women of the so-called untouchable community bear a disproportionate burden and are often subjected to the most extreme acts of cruelty. she was sleeping right here on the 29th of may. they picked up my daughter and took her away from here. >> this grieving father recalls the night when his teenage daughter was dragged from her bed by three upper-class neighbors. they took her to the woods across their home and raped and

mutilated her. >> this is where she was murdered. when i came here, i sawow bad my daughter's condition was. her eyes were stuffed full of mud and her face, too. her hair was completely messed up, too. we saw her and went completely mad. i took off the scarf that had been used to strangle her and carried her back in my arms. >> the perpetrators served a menial sentence despite proudly confessing to the crime. two men are even out on bail. the girl's father has little hope for justice. >> if they are charged for murder, they will spend 2, 3, 6 months in jail, and they will be freed. it doesn't happen with upper-class girls or brahman girls. why doesn't this violence happen to their girls? this happens to girls from our

families. we want justice. we want justice for our daughter. otherwise, what is the point of life. >> in september last year, a similar case shown a spotlight on the daily plate of lower class women. >> s was gang raped. she struggled for life. multiple fractures in her neck. she succumbed in the middle of the night. they decided they must cremate the body of this young girl. >> the body was burned before an investigation could take place to protect the upper-class perpetrators. this lawyer believes that the caste system is responsible for the injustice. >> each of us are borin a caste. the population doesn't allow the caste system to be abolished

because those with privileges have wealth and have power, and they don't want to lose their power. they don't want to lose their resources, so they don't follow along. it is so difficult being born in this particular caste and gender. >> many dalit are determined to challenge the status quo. this lawyer is committed to amplify the voices of women like her and creating a more just society. her experience of caste discrimination on a class visit to a hindu temple laid the foundation for her work today. >> the priest asked me what community i was from, and i said, what do you mean by community? he said, what is your father's name? i didn't understand the caste system. he said, no, don't come. your caste can't enter the temper. >> in order to make a difference, she feels the fight for dalit rights needs the

support of all women. >> whether it is working as a sanitation worker or sweeping someone's home, these are the occupations our women are involved in. you won't find a single upper-class women in these jobs. dalit women need the cooperation of women from other castes. they should engage in dialogue. >> she fights for lower-caste victims in her home state free of charge. >> they went to the door with an axe. they slammed against the door and broke it open. 10 or 11 people broke this bold. >> the only dalit household in the region. they were intimidated and told to leave their land. the police refused to file a full report. >> there were very few police men from the dalit community. they are always from upper castes, and they do not want

their own caste to look better. >> on average, 10 lower caste women are raped every day in india, and many cases are not reported. >> abandoned meaning the solution. people like this will intimidate you everywhere. if they want to call me in the middle of the night for help, i will come in the middle of the night. >> in india, caste is woven intx

01/19/21 01/19/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> those who incited attack on the people's house do not get to talk about healing and unity. they have torn this country apart. they have stoked the fire and then headed the gasoline to donald trump. amy: on donald trump's final full day as president, we speak to one of his fiercest critics congresswoman rashida tlaib of michigan.

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