many thanks again, jon sopel, with the latest for us on| jon sopel, with the latest for us on the streetsgton. a team of nepalese climbers has become the first ever to reach the top of the world's second—highest mountain, k2, during the winter. the summit, along the border between pakistan and china, is notoriously dangerous. secunder kermani reports. conquering the so—called savage mountain in the depth of winter. for decades, it defied the world's toughest climbers. now, this former gurkha and british special forces soldier... this is my team here, hello! ..along with a team of other nepalese mountaineers has made history. it was super cold, and every step we climbed was an effort. so, you know, when we got to the summit, what we did was just ten metres before the summit, the whole team stopped together and, yeah, we sing the national anthem of nepal, and we made it to the summit together. some of the, obviously, team members were very emotional as well, including myself. there are 1a mountains in the world higher than 8,000 metres. k2 was the only one yet to be scaled in winter, becaus

jon sopel is what his legacy looked like. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. with which trump supporters were able to storm congress has raised serious questions about security in washington. 0ur correspondent aleem maqbool has been speaking to some of those caught up in the chaos of last night. no remorse, no guilt, no regrets. those who travelled to washington from across the country to protest are today sightseeing. yesterday had to happen. the shock and disgust is felt elsewhere — not here. how do you feel about it all? i feel very privileged that i was a part of yesterday. i fight for freedom and democracy. even with everything that happened? yes. even with everything that happened. we had the greatest president in our lifetime doing everything he could do, sacrificing his golden years to make this country what it should be and what it always has been. he sacrificed so much, and that is why you seen so many people here, they realise that. in those fateful hours they had been incited to march on the capitol by donald trump. those who forced their way into

jon sopel joins me now.tionship and they shared a car right from the white house to the capitol. eisenhower and jfk house to the capitol. eisenhower and jfk had a bad relationship, they shared a car right from the white house to the capitol. what isjoe biden losing out on by not having donald trump attend this inauguration in the traditional way? i am not sure that it isjoe biden necessarily that is losing out, it is american democracy that is losing out. joe biden, in one of his comments that he gave since he was elected, if donald trump does not want to come along, that is his lookout. the other metaphor is it is like a relay race. you are passing the battle on to the person in front of you who must take the battle on and take it to the next stage and at some pointjoe biden will be presumably passing it on. donald trump has deliberately decided not to do that today. he has decided he does not want to have any part of it. although we heard the words saying i wish the new administration well, he still has no

jon sopel, bbc news, washington. 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?

our north america editor jon sopel. once a sea of faces would greet the incoming president as he stood on the capitol steps, tomorrow it will be flags. thousands and thousands of stars and stripes. this is partly about covid, but even more so now about security. the entire national mall, which stretches for two miles, has been closed off. washington, d.c., has been transformed into a fortress with 25,000 national guardsmen drafted in. razor wire and fencing everywhere. now nearly two weeks on from the storming of congress by a mob incited by dald trump. president trump: fight like held, and if you don't fight like hell, you will not have a country anymore. jon: the shock in america over that attempt to overthrow a fair and free election seems to deepen with each passing day, not dissipate, and washington has become a city on edge. the last time the president was seen in public with a week ago when he went to the border wall, something he would point to as one of his achievements from the four years in office. his behavi

our north america editor jon sopel looks back on a different inauguration.orld leaders sent their congratulations and good wishes to the new president. his spokesman confirmed that the first world leader he will speak to isjustin trudeau — canada's leader but plenty of others have been reacting to his inauguration. we've heard from german chancelor angela merkel via her spokesperson — she said: french president emmanuel macron tweeted: and joe biden, america's second catholic president, has heard directly from the pope — who wrote: "i extend cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that almighty god will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high office". our north america editor jon sopel looks back on a different inauguration. music. so far, so normal. announcer: ladies and - gentlemen, the president-elect of the united states. this is what america does every four years, but everything about today was exceptional, given the last two weeks, given the pandemic and the security situation, given the presidency that was ending. at fir

— more as you say and the brilliant jon sopel reported earlier, lying on the floor— jon sopel reporteden they were sent there to _ war, the 18505 when they were sent there to defend the union. so it is quite _ there to defend the union. so it is quite extraordinary in historic times— quite extraordinary in historic times and mark of how bitterly divided — times and mark of how bitterly divided the country is. in my final thought. — divided the country is. in my final thought. of— divided the country is. in my final thought, of course trump 5hould divided the country is. in my final thought, of course trump should be impeached — thought, of course trump should be impeached for plotting a revolution against _ impeached for plotting a revolution against his own congre55 impeached for plotting a revolution against his own congress and people and doesn't deserve to be president but will— and doesn't deserve to be president but will they impeachment help bring the country back together again with all his— the country back together again with all his supporters living about it and being — all

we begin our coverage with this report from our north america editor, jon sopel.n, they can repaint and put papers back in filing cabinets, they can easily spruce the place up, but none of it will remove the stain on american democracy. the trump supporting mob, the trump inspired rioters, in what's being described as an attempted insurrection, have certainly left their mark. who's house?! the mob that descended on the capitol building probably couldn't believe how easy their task was. after security cordons crumbled, the thin blue line turned out to be painfully so. and if you want one image to highlight the inadequacy of the police response, just look at this officer endlessly retreating, one staircase at a time. or in the chamber, plainclothes officers having to resort to barricading the doors, their weapons drawn to stop the rioters from entering. these are scenes that have played out in tinpot regimes around the world, but in america, this beacon of democracy? this protester ashli babbitt was killed, a military veteran who had served her country in afghanista

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.ly has around 200,000 americans attending but only about 1000 because of the coronavirus crisis and the fears and security scare after the storming of the capitol last wednesday, so it will be a very different event. it is a made—for—television inauguration unlike any we have ever seen and the thing, this big highlight for tomorrow is a 90—minute prime—time special to celebrate this inauguration. it will be the first of its kind amid this tight security but also in the middle of the pandemic so i think sean spicer, who was president trump's press secretary, would agree it is the smallest crowd to ever watch an inauguration, period. donald trump is now spending his last few hours as president and his four years in office will be looked upon as a remarkable time in us political history. before leaving office is expected to grant presidential pardons larry sabato is the director of the center for politics at the university of virginia. he joins me from charlottesville. they were supposed

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.rica's politics, these are scenes i never thought i would see, president trump, by the way, just in the last few minutes, has tweeted he is not condemning these riots and the storming of the capital. this is what he says, for what it's worth. "these other things and events when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly and unfairly treated for so long. go home with love and mp5, remember this day forever. " love and mp5, remember this day forever." so there is the president of the united states after the scenes we have seen of the united states after the scenes we have seen with reports that a woman has died during these conflicts, members been forced into their offices, locked in their offices, calling these protesters, the people who broke through police cordons and went into the chamber of the house of representatives and the senate and calling them "great patriots." again, senate and calling them "great

jon sopel there.ill, 70% of trump voters oppose the actions of the rioters, who acted in the president's name, 68% of americans disapprove of the president's behaviour in the run—up to the storming of congress, and 57% of americans want mr trump removed from office as soon as possible. earlier i spoke to journalist steve merczynski — he's a supporter of donald trump and was at the capitol during wednesday's riots — steve gave his assessment of the current situation. it's been a terrible week but it's been a terrible week for the country because we have seen a lot of scapegoating going on over here as well, and a lot of political advantage and a search for a scalp over what happened here. the majority of trump supporters, as your polljust showed, do not support what happened. most were totally peaceful and just wanted to have the show of force that we felt there was a lot of shenanigans during the election and that it wasn't an honest election. ok, you say it wasn't an honest election. here's a partial

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.espite being banned from twitter, we've still heard from the president, all without him acknowledging the impeachment. adding to that statement at the end ofjon�*s report, this video message, again urging calm and condemning last week's attack, was released in the last couple of hours. my fellow americans, i want to speak to you tonight about the troubling events of the past week. as i have said, the incursion of the us capitol struck at the very heart of our republic. it angered and appalled millions of americans across the political spectrum. i want to be very clear. i unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week. violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country and no place in our movement. making america great again has always been about defending the rule of law, supporting the men and women of law enforcement, and upholding our nation's most sacred traditions and values. mob violence goes against everything i believe in, and everything our movement stand

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.ongresswoman robin kelly who was on capitol hill as this all unfolded. thank as this all unfolded. you so much forjoining us, thank you so much forjoining us, congresswoman. thank you so much forjoining us, congresswoman. what was it like at that moment when the capital was stormed 7 like at that moment when the capital was stormed? it was very scary. i was in the gallery of the chamber. of course, we did not know what was going on at first, and then all of a sudden, we were told we might have to go under our receipts. we have to go get gas masks under the seats, and then they evacuated and we were, you know, upstairs, so it was a little bit harder to be evacuated because the doors we re evacuated because the doors were all locked. so we had to all run to the other side. then at the end, we were actually crawling and kneeling and hiding because guns were drawn, and capital police were barricading the chambers, breaking the windows of the chamber. it was so chaotic and scary. we are see

jon sopel, bbc news.pologised unreservedly to tens of thousands of women and children, the survivors of homes for unmarried mothers and babies often run by the church, after an inquiry revealed around 9,000 thousand children died over the decades. at one institution in county galway— almost 800 died — and it's thought many of them were buried in a sewage system. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page begins his report with a man who was born in the home. the only thing that i can remember is the beds being wet. you're marched down to school. you had to go ten minutes late in the morning. you had to leave ten minutes early in the evening. we were all cornered off in a section of the playground by the nuns, so you wouldn't mix with the other kids. and then to be locked up in what i call a prison, really, and to think, like, why? just because i was born out of wedlock. pj haverty spent his first seven years in the home which once stood here. ireland in the 1950s was a deeply conservative catholic society. unma

jon sopel reports from florida. would greet the incoming president as he stood on the capitol steps, tomorrow it will be flags — thousands and thousands of stars and stripes. this is partly about covid, but even more so now about security. the entire national mall, which stretches for two miles, has been closed off. washington, dc has been transformed into a fortress, with 25,000 national guardsmen drafted in. razor wire and fencing everywhere. now, nearly two weeks on from the storming of congress by a mob incited by donald trump. we fight like hell. and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country any more. the shock in america over that attempt to overthrow a fair and free election seems to deepen with each passing day, not dissipate, and washington has become a city on edge. the last time the president was seen in public was a week ago when he went to the border wall, something he'd point to as one of his achievements from the four years in office. but it will be his behaviour since the elect

jon sopel, thank you.cola sturgeon of misleading parliament, calling her evidence to the inquiry into the handling of sexual harassment claims made against him "simply untrue". mr salmond's comments emerged in a written submission to an investigation into whether ms sturgeon breached the ministerial code. the first minister says she "entirely rejects mr salmond's claims". 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon is in glasgow tonight. this written submission by mr salmond is potentially explosive. it contains damning accusations and shows just how far apart these once close political allies, alex salmond and nicola sturgeon, now are. in the submission mr salmond alleges state m e nts submission mr salmond alleges statements nicola sturgeon made to the scottish parliament are in his words are simply untrue. he goes on to claim that parliament has been repeatedly misled on a number of occasions about a meeting involving both of them in 2018. he also claims the first minister allowed the scottish government to

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.uci is back in favour at the white house after several rows with president trump. —— the white house. and he says the increased roll out of vaccinations is a realistic target. we are certainly not starting from scratch because there is activity going on in the distribute action. but if you look at the plan that the president has put forth about the things he's going to do, namely get community vaccine centre supplement get pharmacies more involved, where appropriate get the defense production act involves not only perhaps with getting more vaccine but even the things you need to get a good vaccine programme, for example, needles and syringes that might be more useful than that. so it is taking what has gone on but amplifying it in a big way. —— going on in the distribution. antifa fauci talking aboutjoe biden�*s —— anthony fauci talking about the administrations goal to roll out 100 million vaccines in 100 days. president biden has set the target for his administration to achieve 100 m

let's get a final thought from our north america editor, jon sopel.s and falls across parts of england and falls across parts of england and wales, and those numbers will probably to rise for some time. a met office amber warning for rain is in force until tomorrow morning, and as well as that, over recent hours, we have seen rain turned to snow in scotland, and across southern scotland, and across southern scotland is warning for 10—30 centimetres of snow, blizzards developing later. clearly a sharp knife edge between the rain and snow, it is not out of the question that we will see snow work into north—east england as well. we could see 5—10 centimetres here, but a lot of uncertainty about that kind of detail. it will be very windy later in the night across eastern areas, with gusts reaching 50—60 mph, strong enough to wake you from your slumber and potentially bring down the odd tree. if that wasn't enough, fog in scotland, frost across the northern half of the uk, and some ice into thursday morning, a real smorgasbord of weather, none of it too on

jon sopel, our north american editor. more now on our main story tonight.ales were among care home residents according to the latest data from the office for national statistics. since the start of the pandemic in march last year, just over 25,000 care home residents with covid have died across the uk. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt has more details. the routines they hope will keep covid—19 at bay — spraying, cleaning, the careful donning and doffing of protective equipment, all now part of everyday life here at eachstep blakeley, a dementia home in greater manchester. in the first wave of the pandemic, they lost nine residents to the virus. now, they have a second outbreak. scary. we did it the first time in the first wave. coming to work, it was so scary. you know, hopefully, we won't have it as bad as last time. so far, only two people here are showing symptoms, and some in the home have had vaccinations. but across england and wales, care homes are now seeing a significant rise in covid—related deaths. we've put walk—through booths in our

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.ld in this latest round of us votes — the run off for two senate seats in georgia. should the democrats win both of them, they will have effective control of the presidency and both houses of congress. voting takes place on tuesday — and bothjoe biden and donald trump are campaigning for their parties' candidates. mr biden has already spoken — take a listen. unlike any time in my career, one state, one state can chart the course notjust for the next four years, but for the next generation. let's talk now to our north america correspondent david willis. david, correspondent david willis. looking at the senate r how david, looking at the senate runoff. how high are the stakes? they are very high, james. put simply, the outcome of the election, those senate elections in georgia tomorrow will determine which party, democrat or republican, has control of the upper house, the senate, currently they have 51 seats in that 100 seat chamber, where the democrats to win both of those georgia state

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.or, laura kuenssberg, is in westminsterfor us. a third lockdown, but will it feel different to like back in march? yes and no, fiona, tonight is a moment that politicians the right across the uk had desperately wanted to avoid. but it is a situation that the virus has actually dragged us to to. remember yesterday boris johnson was telling parents to send their kids to school this morning, in less than two hours we expect him to tell the country again, that schools are going to close, to most pupil, he will urge again most of us, if you possibly can to stay at home. there there will be laws brought in in the next couple of days to make that illegal —— a legal requirement. it's the opposite of where politicians wa nted the opposite of where politicians wanted us to be, remember how things in the summer felt they had turned round. there is a big difference, there are vaccines now, the government is scrambling to get them into as many arms as fast as they possible can, but there is one thi

our north america editor jon sopel has more.ighting of the president since last thursday. his first appearance since the storming of congress by his supporters that left five people dead and america's reputation tarnished. he wants to parade his achievements over these past four years so he went to inspect the border wall in texas, but it's the walls around him in washington that are closing in. tomorrow, he is likely to become the first president in american history to be impeached twice, though today he was totally unrepentant. the impeachment hoax is a continuation of the greatest and most vicious witchhunt in the history of our country and is causing tremendous anger and division and pain far greater than most people will ever understand, which is very dangerous for the usa, especially at this very tender time. donald trump was also asked today whether his language had contributed to last week's riots. then he said, "we have to fight, we have to fight like hell, otherwise we'll have no country left." he told people they had

jon sopel, bbc news, washington. significant problems bringing goods from great britain into northern ireland. under the agreement, northern ireland has to keep following eu rules, while the rest of the uk does not, so new paperwork is needed for goods crossing the irish sea. and as our correspondent emma vardy explains, there's been frustration for consumers. 0rdered it, placed it, took the money, got the confirmation, got everything. if lockdown means you have been doing a bit more online shopping at the moment, then spare a thought for customers in northern ireland, who keep on finding this. one of the representatives actually telling me that they don't deliver to northern ireland. i had ordered sofa beds, tables. they said, "we think we are probably not going to be doing deliveries to the island of ireland any more." because brexit means it's now more complicated for companies in great britain to ship goods over the irish sea, a number of firms have temporarily suspended deliveries to customers in northern irelan

jon sopel, bbc news, washington. with which trump supporters were able to storm congress has raised serious questions about security in washington. the head of capitol police is resigning. our correspondent aleem manool has been speaking to some of those caught up in the chaos of last night. no remorse, no guilt, no regrets. those who travelled to washington from across the country to protest are today sightseeing. yesterday had to happen. the shock and disgust is felt elsewhere — not here. how do you feel about it all? i feel very privileged that i was a part of yesterday. ifight forfreedom and democracy. even with everything that happened ? yes. even with everything that happened. we had the greatest president in our lifetime doing everything he could do, sacrificing his golden years to make this country what it should be and what it always has been. he sacrificed so much, and that is why you seen so many people here, they realise that. in those fateful hours they had been incited to march on the capitol by donald

two—thirds majority, and could led to a ban on holding any public office. 0ur north america editor jon sopelthink this process is going to unfold?— is going to unfold? i think it's auoin to is going to unfold? i think it's going to be — is going to unfold? i think it's going to be very _ is going to unfold? i think it's going to be very different - is going to unfold? i think it's. going to be very different from is going to unfold? i think it's - going to be very different from last year. this time round, the senate floor where the child will take place is also the crime scene. a year ago republican leaders in the senate were saying, let's get this over and done with as soon as possible, there is nothing to see here, do not prosecute the president for this. this time around, the leadership are saying, it's up to you, you decide how you want to go on this. and mitch mcconnell, the very influential leader of republicans in the senate, has said the president's language provoked the president's language provoked the violence that ensued by the telling of untruths, so a very different situation.

jon sopel seem to have been a one-off. jon sopel, many thanks again.has led to renewed debate about how the social media platforms and the big tech companies are regulated. chancellor merkel of germany said the decision was problematic, and other european leaders said that interfering with freedom of expression was a matter for official regulators, not the big tech companies themselves. it's part of the ongoing debate about the online world, and whether it's essentially a publisher or a platform. 0ur media editor amol rajan is here with his analysis. in america, the media, the system of public information and communication, is broken. fixing it, and making sure the same thing doesn't happen here, depends on understanding where power lies today. fearing regulation that will spook their investors, the data kings of california have for years resisted the idea that they are publishers. that era is over. a grand de—platforming of donald trump and many of his supporters is under way. twitter‘s boss jack dorsey has deleted president trump's account. facebook

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.'s impeachment vote caps off a week unlike any other for america's capital city. while president trump has been silenced on twitter, he has released a video in the last couple of hours. we can listen to that now. my my fellow americans, i want to speak to you tonight about the troubling events of the past week. as i have said, the incursion of the us capitol struck at the very heart of our republic. it angered and appalled millions of americans across the political spectrum. i want to be very clear. i unequivocally condemned the violence that we saw last week. violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country and no place in our movement. meeting america great again as i was been about defending the rule of law, supporting the men and women of law enforcement, and upholding our nation's most sacred traditions and values. mob violence goes against everything i believe in and everything i believe in and everything our movement stands for. no true supporter of mine could ever

jon sopel, bbc news, washington. hour, joe biden has attended a covid memorial service, in tribute to the 400,000 amercans who've lost their lives to coronavirus. mr biden — who will spend the night at the presidential guest house blair house — paid tribute to medical workers and spoke of the importance of healing as a nation. to heal, we must remember. and it's hard sometimes to remember, but that's how we heal. it's important to do that as a nation. that's why we're here today. between sundown and dusk, let us shine the lights in the darkness along the sacred pool of reflection and remember all whom we lost. 0ur correspondent larry madowo has been at the memorial in washington. close by, a few blocks away. evidence that the nation certainly has not healed, or is not likely to heal for has not healed, or is not likely to healfor sometime, has not healed, or is not likely to heal for sometime, just in terms of the security presence where are, larry. the security presence where are, lar . ~ , ,., , ., the security pre

jon sopel in washington, thank you.aily death toll — more than 1500 people have died. the prime minister has warned that there is still a very substantial risk of intensive care units in hospitals being overwhelmed. the high number of new infections due to the new variant and more household mixing during the christmas period are still working their way through the nhs, with the number of hospital admissions and deaths likely to remain high over the next few weeks. fergal keane and cameraman dave bull report from imperial health care's st mary's and charing cross hospitals in london. a warning, their report begins with some flashing images. it is britain's tale of two realities — lockdown streets much busier than before, and just minutes from here... even though i can't hear what you're saying, you are very safe. the voices of one pandemic day. there are a lot of noises going on. lam drwong. i'm the consultant, lovely to meet you. how are you feeling today? so much better. i genuinely thought i was going to die. i surren

jon sopel, bbc news. we can cross to barbara plett usher on capitol hill.ress there are currently voting on this idea that the vice president, mike pence should invoke the 25th amendment and force the president from power but we just heard from the vice president himself. what has he said? , , , said? this is the first comment that he has _ said? this is the first comment that he has made _ said? this is the first comment that he has made about - said? this is the first comment that he has made about this i that he has made about this move and he is telling the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, not to go through with it. he says this is something that would further inflame and divide the nation and he asks her to work with him to unite the country and to try to lower the temperature and he said that he would pledge to work with the incoming administration ofjoe biden so that things will go smoothly. he said pointedly last week i did not give in to pressure to violate the constitution and overturn the election results. he refers to pressure from mr trump a

jon sopel, bbc news. we can cross to barbara plett—usher on capitol hill. us what tonight's vote is about and what you'll be watching for in the wake of the news that three house republicans, including liz cheney, a senior member of the house republican leadership, are going to vote to impeach president trump. the are going to vote to impeach president trump.— president trump. the vote toni . ht president trump. the vote tonight is _ president trump. the vote tonight is about _ president trump. the vote tonight is about the - tonight is about the constitution democrats are asking _ constitution democrats are asking the vice president, mike pence. — asking the vice president, mike pence. to — asking the vice president, mike pence, to invoke his constitutional authority to remove _ constitutional authority to remove donald trump from office because _ remove donald trump from office because he is incapable of governing. so, that is going to then— governing. so, that is going to then give — governing. so, that is going to then give him 24 hours to take action,

that report byjon sopel. and jone house to provide further analysis of trump's position you can see already that the democrats are planning to draw up articles of impeachment, to impeach him a second time in the house. apparently, this is being planned when the raid on the congress was taking place. and they are going to accuse donald trump of intention to cause an insurrection. so that's that. there is also nancy pelosi, the speaker of the house, she has beenin the speaker of the house, she has been in touch with the commander of the us military to say that the president should be stripped of the nuclear codes because he is not a reliable person. you have got the white house saying that this is going to sew further division. there are republicans saying he ought to go. so that is the next 12 days. we don't know what donald might do or say next. last night, he was on ottawa queue, he might let rip if not. so there's a lot of uncertainty. so let's look at where we are right now. because this has been a week of turbule

laura: that is our north america editor jon sopel there, on a very eventful 24 hours in washington.'s irca. -- what's now go to anthony. joe biden laid out that national coronavirus strategy. what is the biggest differee between his approach and donald trump's? anthony: i think the trump administration was relying heavily on states in particular to distribute the vaccine. they would help with production and transportation but once a got to the states, t states were being given money but they were being counted on to use their infrastructure to give the shots to people. it administration seems the biden administration -- it seems the biden administration wants to nationalize more. they want to have a national plan as far as prevention goes. mask wearing. they also want to try to have various things to help people prevent themselves from getting the virus and help schools reopen. i think this is a much more involved plan that we saw with the trump administration, particularly at the state level. laura: before we get to the fate of the former president donald trump, just tell us, biden

jon sopel, bbc news, washington. rebuild its international alliances, as world leaders sent their congratulations and good wishes to the new president. his spokesman confirmed that the first world leader he will speak to isjustin trudeau — canada's leader — but plenty of others have been reacting to his inauguration. we've heard from german chancelor angela merkel via her spokesperson — she said: french president emmanuel macron tweeted: and joe biden — america's second catholic president — has heard directly from the pope — who wrote: 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. uk prime minister is like to see american presidents as they somatic 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

we begin our coverage with this report from our north america editor, jon sopel. the live pictures shortly. meanwhile you can see our correspondent inside the capital building. our correspondent lebo diseko was inside the capitol building when security officials ordered her to stop broadcasting and move to a safer area. she's been there ever since — and shejoins me now. lawmakers are about to resume this process of certifying the election but have the last few hours been like for you? it has been quite a day. seems i never thought i would see in the us capitol foreshore. we are standing at the point we were when we were asked move by the police and there has been widespread criticism of the scenes both from democrats but also from members of donald trump ‘s own party. some of whom you might expect, people like mitt romney, but others you may not expect. the republican pa rty‘s communications director likening the scenes we saw today to a domestic terrorism. liz cheney has been critical of the president in the past, accusing him of fanning the fla mes accusing him

jon sopel, bbc news, washington. away from the white house come over president donald trump is spending his last night in the white house, and just a block or two away is blair house, were president electjoe biden is also spending his last night as a civilian. tomorrow at noon local time, civilian. tomorrow at noon localtime, he civilian. tomorrow at noon local time, he becomes president, and he has said that the coronavirus crisis is going to be his challenge and he has all ready got a series of executive actions he is going be putting in place to tackle that crisis. 0ne be putting in place to tackle that crisis. one of the things he intends to do is make sure he intends to do is make sure he can get 100 million vaccinations in the first 100 days. today, he spoke at the memorial at the reflect in full outside the licking memorial, in iconic place, and it was an important event because just before that event happened, about an hour before, america crossed 400,000 deaths, the highest deaths of any country in the world

let's get the latest from washington now. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, is there.do people see? kind of range of policy reversal do peeple see?—

jon sopel, bbc news, washington. zurcher, our senior north america reporter. i put it to him that this had been an extraordinary day. it has been, an astonishing day. we started this day talking about the georgia senate races and how the power was shifting in washington, dc as democrats were poised to ta ke as democrats were poised to take over the senate and joe biden would have the unified government when he was elected, when he was inaugurated as president injust two when he was inaugurated as president in just two weeks. then we were going to talk about the proceedings that were happening in congress and how republicans were going to lob some challenges to the boat counting, but that the democrats would eventually prevail, and everything went off the rails, everything went ina off the rails, everything went in a direction that i think a lot of people feared might happen, but few thought would actually be realised. i think you said yesterday, there would have been nothing like this in modern american history, you

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.on capitol hill today. laura trevelyan spoke to him before the session resumed and he gave his reaction to the scenes in washington. it was very shocking. i drove into the complex this morning and we saw the protesters outside. i was a little worried that something like this could happen but i really did did not envision a complete takeover of the capitol. there was an invasion, an assault on one of our greatest institutions. the symbol of democracy. we like to think we are a beacon of hope for the world and i think today was very damaging for the united states of america to have our capitol ta ken over united states of america to have our capitol taken over by these mobsters and so i barricaded in my office, the protesters were outside and we we re protesters were outside and we were worried they would break down the door. there were two bombs that capitol police were able to detonate without causing injury but we had gunshots at the capitol when they tried to invade the house chamber

our north america editor jon sopel has this assessment. on this vote, the ayes...ved himself an unwelcome niche in american history, becoming the first president to be impeached twice. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. as dawn broke over the nation's capital, the place was somehow unrecognisable. the landscape had changed. it now feels like the front line, a garrison town, with the elegant marble corridors a barracks. the civil war president, abraham lincoln, looking down on resting servicemen. but impeachment 2.0 is different, very different. for a start, the us congress, where this is being heard, is also the crime scene where the trump—supporting mob descended last week. almighty god, wield your sword and penetrate the confusion and discontent of our country. and this isn't about some call to a ukrainian politician. this is about an assault on the sacred heart of us democracy. donald trump is charged with inciting it. the president must be impeached and i believe the president must be convicted by the senate, a constitutional re

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.inauguration president biden set to work in the oval office. he signed i7 executive actions, 15 executive orders, some of which will reverse decisions made by his predecessor, former president trump. the executive actions will make changes to the us response to the covid—i9 pandemic and try to ease some of the financial strain placed on americans resulting from the pandemic. but other executive actions directly target and undo mr. trump's actions on the environment, immigration, the us census, and regulatory changes. a couple of hours ago president biden�*s press secretary, jen psaki, held her first briefing. she was asked how she and the president plan to combat disinformation. well, ithink, peter, there are a number of ways to combat misinformation. one of them is accurate information and truth and data, and sharing information even when it is hard to hear. and even when it is not meeting the expectations of people at home who are desperate for this crisis to be over. we'll have more

jon sopel, bbc news, washington. has around 200,000 americans attending but only about 1000 because of the coronavirus crisis and the fears and security scare after the storming of the capital last wednesday so it will be a very different event. it is a made—for—television inauguration unlike any we have ever seen and the thing, this big highlight for tomorrow is a 90—minute prime—time special to celebrate this inauguration will be the first of its kind amid this tight security but also in the middle of the pandemic so i think sean spicer, who was president trump's press secretary, would agree it is the smallest crowd to ever watch an inauguration, period. in his last hours in office, mr trump is expected to grant presidential pardons to around 100 people, featuring many of his allies and loyalists. although much of trump's term in office has been mired in controversy, last—ditch pardons are not rare in the final days of a presidency. we can now speak to margaret love, who served as us pardon attorney from 1990 to 19

our north america editor jon sopel has this report.horse" and "stable door" come to mind, as contractors are brought in to erect to some proper security around the capitol hill complex. so alarmingly and easily breached by the trump—supporting mob on wednesday night. and the repercussions are still being felt. last night, a chastened and tense president spoke words that had clearly been written for him. i would like to begin by addressing the heinous attack... the change of tone and substance in just 2a hours is startling, whiplash inducing. as they say on school essays, compare and contrast. we are going to walk down to the capitol... we have just been through an intense election and emotions are high but now tempers must be cooled and calm restored. ..you'll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength and you have to be strong... like all americans, i am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem. the demonstrators who infiltrated the capitol have defiled the seat of american democracy. ..so, go home, w

called the heinous attack on the us capital in washington dc on wednesday. 0ur north america editor, jon sopeloa words that he had committed himself to a smooth transition of power, a most visual manifestation of that is that on inauguration day the president—elect comes to the door of the white house and president and president elect travel together in the beast to capitol hill for a ceremonial handing over of the pattern, if you like. that is not going to happen for the first time since the 1860s. the words horse and sta ble since the 1860s. the words horse and stable door come to mind as contractors are brought into erect some proper security around the capitol hill complex. so alarmingly and easily breached by the trump supporting mob on wednesday night. and the repercussions are still being felt. last night, a chastened and intense president spoke words that had clearly been written for him. i would like to begin by addressing the heinous attack... the change of tone and substance in just 24 change of tone and substance in just 2a out is startling, whiplash inducing. as they say on school

to say that this is all a result of a fraudulent voting system, and he continues, as we heard in jon sopel's the process itself. now, in a few hours' time, donald trump is due to arrive in atlanta, just outside atlanta, where he is due to take part in a rally, and the fear on the part of republicans, james, is that instead ofjust kind of lobbying for the two republican candidates in those georgia senate runoff seats, that the president will once again go off message, if you like, and start talking about the problems with the election system here. that, of course, could deter some republicans, perhaps many, from actually turning out at the polls tomorrow. david willis there. america's department ofjustice says it is extremely disappointed by a british court ruling which prevents the wikileaks founderjulian assange from being extradited. the us wants him to stand trial for publishing classified documents. but a judge at the old bailey in london said concerns over his mental health meant the extradition could not proceed. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. free julian assange!