director of the institute of government, and here in the studio, the bbc‘s world affairs editor, john simpsonk you all forjoining me on this crucial weekend. well, the politics of every presidential election are divisive. in 1800, john adams accused thomas jefferson of fathering a child with one of his slave staff members. and jefferson responded by accusing adams of being in league with the english — of being a traitor, effectively. perhaps nothing quite so egregious has been said this time, but america has rarely been so deeply divided. between liberal america and conservative america, no bridge seems possible at the moment. the last two sessions of congress have been among the most partisan in the history of the american republic. in a system in which power is staggered and consensus is needed for any progress, politics appears to be quite broken. beginning in philadelphia, michael goldfarb, you are in the city in which, in 1787, where the consitutional convention was held, which led to the american constitution. do you think the constitution will hold up in the face of this unique challen

john simpson, looking again ina questions.obal sense, many liberals might breathe a sigh of relief and give joe liberals might breathe a sigh of relief and givejoe biden the benefit of the doubt. no administration has that long to get stuff through. pollen policy is easier because the president can act unilaterally, effectively. —— foreign policy. i imagine the first thing joe biden will do will be to speak to his partners across the board. i speak to his partners across the board. lam speak to his partners across the board. i am sure speak to his partners across the board. lam sure he speak to his partners across the board. i am sure he will try to do something with turkey. he will certainly try to do something with the western european elements in nato. personally i believe, but i wouldn't know of course, no kind of evidence for it, but i personally believe that he won't be too interested in what's happening with brexit and the european union. the only way he can do that, really, is to act as a continuation of the whole good

many thanks, john simpson.ve for covid—19. mr meadows made headlines in octoberfor saying, "we're not going to control the pandemic," as cases surged across the us. mr meadows was last seen at a white house party on election night. his condition and the circumstances of how he might have become infected are so far unclear. france has recorded more than 60,000 new coronavirus infections — its highest daily total since the start of the pandemic. the country, like a lot of europe, is one week into a second lockdown, with the aim of curbing the spread of coronavirus. meanwhile, denmark has begun culling its mink population because it's worried about a coronavirus mutation found in the animal. paul hawkins reports. staff working flat—out at the victor provo hospital in northern france. intensive care capacity has been increased from 20 to 30 beds in recent weeks, as more covid patients than the first wave come in. translation: at the beginning of the second wave, it was more vulnerable people and elderly people comi

news, still to come: as the race for the white house nears its end, our world affairs editor, john simpsonbetterfor the uk. the israeli prime minister, yitzhak rabin, the architect of the middle east peace process, has been assassinated. a 27—year—old man has been arrested, and an extremist jewish organisation has claimed responsibility for the killing. at polling booths throughout the country, they voted on an historic day for australia. as the results came in, it was clear — the monarchy would survive. of the american hostages, there was no sign. they are being held somewhere inside the compound, and student leaders have threatened that, should the americans attempt to rescue, they will all die. this mission has surpassed all expectations. voyager! is now the most distant man—made object anywhere in the universe — and it just seems to keep on going. tonight, we prove once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but the enduring power of our ideals. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: donald trump and joe biden are mak

john simpson, bbc news.d just a word about the polls. we've had the final polls in the key swing states which are fascinating. they showjoe biden ahead in all the key places, but not by such a margin that can he can ta ke by such a margin that can he can take anything for granted and donald trump is not so far behind that he would think all is lost. tuesday is going to be a nailbiter. jon sopel, thank you, in washington. england world cup winner and manchester united legend sir bobby charlton has been diagnosed with dementia. sir bobby spent 17 years at old trafford, winning three league titles. his wife norma said she hopes the diagnosis could help others. football — and manchester city retained the women's fa cup after beating everton 3—1 in extra time at wembley. 0ur reporterjo currie was watching. being held six months later than planned because of covid, these players had had to wait a long time for their moment on the biggest stage. it was the defending champions who leapt into the lead. sam mewis, a u

government, a very different government, a very different government from the one it has been used to. john simpsonania, wherejoe biden is in the lead over president trump by more than 28,000 votes. we have been saying that for four days. let‘s hope somebody has organised the philadelphia stakes, because they need the cheese in the beef to keep the energy levels up in this horrendous process of counting every vote. not just this horrendous process of counting every vote. notjust counting every vote, but in some cases, re—counting votes a nd vote, but in some cases, re—counting votes and dealing with disputes over those votes. in the end what happens in that room there with these two, three women sorting at this particular table, sorting votes. they have been working shifts to try and sustain the process over hours and sustain the process over hours and days. this will determine who, in the end, is given the front door key of this building, now known as the white house. famously at one point it was burnt down by the british during one of the conflicts between the uk and the united states. the heart

john simpson, good to see you. thank you very much indeed.rage of the us campaign 2020. we will have much more from washington and from across the united states throughout the afternoon on bbc one and the bbc news channel. americans are waking up this morning to uncertainty with no clear indication of who will be the next president of the united states. both donald trump and joe biden are predicting victory but there are still crucial battle ground states yet to declare the results. with millions of ballots left to count, donald trump has already claimed, without evidence, that he has won, telling his reporters —— where supporters, don't let them steal the election. we will be going to the us supreme court. we want all voting to stop. we don't want them to find any ballots at four o'clock in the morning and add them to the list. 0k? morning and add them to the list. ok? joe biden's team has called effo rts ok? joe biden's team has called efforts to stop the count

. >> my guy matthew wolf looking good at four under through 11, john ron titer 13, loses go to guy, webb simpson, and pepper second, at five underpar. how about baseball? hosea brady who broke down in tears after being named the american league's most valuable player. the first baseman freddie freeman was named the national league most viable player. he got 28 out of 31st pl. most viable player. he got 28 out of 31st pl. mike of the giants finished in eighth place. if you're going to watch the finish of the second, first out of the masters come you've got to get up bright and early. tees off at 4:30 pacific time. >> bay area homeowners, learn how you can eliminate monthly mortgage payments and improve your cashflow. look, this isn't my first rodeo and let me tell you something, i wouldn't be here if i thought reverse mortgages took advantage of any american senior, or worse, that it was some way to take your home. it's just a loan designed for older homeowners, and, it's helped over a million americans. a reverse mortgage loan isn't some kind of trick to take your home. it's a loan, like any oth

meanwhile, let's put this election into some global context — with us now is our world affairs editor, john simpsonking bumbling and incompetent, and indeed potentially quite nasty. those are things we haven't naturally associated with the united states over the decades. and it's going to have an effect, i think, on the way just about the whole world sees america. there are countries like china, for instance, who are using this already to say, look, don't worry your head is about all this democracy nonsense. look what effect it has on a country. just stick with our system where the party tells you what to do and it organises things very well. look at covid for instance, and compare china with america or western europe. so altogether i think it's having quite altogether i think it's having quite a corrosive effect internationally. but are we also seeing in america that's re—evaluating its place in the world and its role in the world? and that this is more of a long—term philosophical trend, and that this is more of a long—term philosophicaltrend, ratherthan something that's going to be decided by an

to win mount wolf, liz had a top day finish from webb simpson and kim came close to the top with john romm tied for 7. so can, liz, we all owe you dinner. just make sure you don't take a victory lap around the new station. >> we will just have to make sure they're not some smart alec bus driver who takes us out. >> i will take you to dinner though. that sounds good, dennis. in yeah, so meanies, here we come. >> thanks, dennis. >> still had, you may have to expect to pay up if you smoke inside your own home. the new proposal in san francisco. >>> good evening, liz and ken. good to see you. coming up after 6:00, hope is on the way as a second vaccine maker, madonna says it's shot nearly 95% effective against still hard to find a spot. just easier to park. still the big move. just more moving. still singing. just more in tune. still the gangs all here. just less "are we there yet?" the chevy family of suvs. making life's journey just better. now during the chevy cyber sales event, use $500 cyber cash on most suv models... to get $5,250 total cash allowance on most 2020 equinox models. vi

marks & spencer announced its first ever loss and john lewis has announced plans to cut 1,500 jobs at its head office. our business correspondent emma simpson shutting their doors during lockdown. it is starting to hit me that tomorrow the door is shut and that is it for another month. so today every head counts. at this barbershop in bedford they have crammed two weeks' worth of business into a few days, working late before lockdown. i am pretty sure we will get some support from the government and stuff, but we are going to be losing a lot of money over the coming month. and the unpredictability of it, if it is only a month. in the town centre a last—minute dash to the shops. what have you been buying? christmas cards and a few other bits and pieces. i did get a few presents so that at least if it doesn't open in december we've got some bits. i'm just coping with it, same as we did last time. what will be will be, there is nothing we can do about it, there is no point worrying about it, is there? this couldn't come at the worst time for the retail and hospitality industry, slap bang in the run—up to christmas where many businesses make mo