i am nada tawfik.fabulous weekend. ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of thisrogram is provided by... language specialists teaching spanish, french and more. raymond james. foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. girl: we are the curious. ♪ woman 1: wow! man 2: oh! daniel tiger: grrr! woman 2: those venturing out for the first time. all: blast off! [rocket explosion] man 3: and those who have never lo man 4: whoa! man 5: are you seeing is? ♪ cking] vo: we are t hungry. cookie monster: cookie! man 6: the strong. muhammad ali: i must be the greatest! ♪ vo: the joyful. bob ross: a happy little cloud. ♪ man 3: we believe there is always morwe can uncover. gi: more we can explore. woman 3: we believe... man 6: ...in the capacy for goodness. vo: and the potential for greaess. ♪ man 7: the torch has bn passed to a new gen man 1: pbs. man 3: pbs. girl: pbs. ♪ ♪ judy:

nada tawfik, bbc news, new york.but by how much is up for debate. a joint abc — washington post poll hasjoe biden ahead by 53% to 41% among registered voters. however a cnn poll says that 50% of registered voters will back joe biden and 46% will support donald trump. i've been speaking to julia manchesterfrom the hill news website to find out what the democrats are hoping to achieve with this convention. we will definitely be hoping to rev up we will definitely be hoping to rev up their base while at the same time trying to follow the social distancing and public health guidelines that have been put in place during the pandemic —— they will be. there is a risk that the democrats are making by making this mostly virtual and pass conventions you have seen people crowding on at the convention floor. it is essentially a big party, there are balloons, all the dressings, etc. this unit is just going to be virtually streamed speeches and maybe some live performances that make this year. but democrats are looking to put out

nada tawfik has more.gn. instead the party will be holding an unconventional convention because of health concerns surrounding the pandemic. this is what it should look like but the normallyjam packed arenas will be replaced by two hours of virtual programming each night. over the four days speakers will include party heavyweights such as the 0bamas and clintons and a mix of moderates to progressive stars such as bernie sanders and alexandria 0casio—cortez. heading into the convention, this pollster says the biden—harris ticket is in a good position leading by a comfortable margin. conventions really don't play a large role in the election anyway so it's not going to really matter. in fact, it could just help him further. and what we have seen is him staying in place, staying in the shadows, letting president trump fall over his own rhetoric and his own handling of the pandemic and the protests and the economy, that has worked for biden really well in the last couple of months and we see that in the polls.

nada tawfik, bbc news, newjersey.ovid—19 has been authorised for wider use by authorities in the united states. 70,000 people in the us have already received the blood product by transfusion. 0ur health correspondent anna collinson is here. just explain more about the treatment. how does it work? so, plasma is a yellow gold liquid that you can find in our blood, and plasma is a yellow gold liquid that you canfind in our blood, and many countries are using it to treat coronavirus, though currently we are not entirely sure how effective it is, and the method is pretty simple. a donor needs to have had coronavirus and then fully recovered. the liquid part of their blood, also known as the plasma contains antibodies which are produced to fight off the virus. and researchers say that if a person's plasma is rich in antibodies, it can be given to someone whose immune system is struggling, and that can then provide a vital boost of immunity. what is the evidence that this works for covid—19 patients? the food and drug admini

this is nada tawfik -- this is "bbc world news america." dr. sayy thee fighting to save his life.ormer white house chief rategist steve bannon has been arrested and pleads not guilty to charges of defrauding a public fund set up to finan' donald trum's border wall. >> joe biden. ok me over, will you? katty: he has tried twi bbeore but neve this close, as joe biden prepares to deliver his speec we lo at the urney that got him one step away from the presidency. >> ♪ happy birthday to you katty: and the science of singing in the age of cov. why the louder you belt out your favorite tunes, the more likely you are spread the disea. welcome to world news america on pbs and around the globe. opposition figure is fighting for his life and hospital. his spokesperson thinks he has beenoi poet -- beenned. he was on a flight to moscow when he felt violently ill. his teamuspects that poison was slipped into a cup of tea he drank at the airport before boarding his flight. he is president putin's most famous critic and a thorn in the kremlin's side. bbc has more. reporter: this was him momen bef

nada tawfik, bbc news, new york.news channel with christian fraser and katty kay. lets get more on the crisis around a—level grades. we can speak to dave maccormick is the head teacher at holyrood academy in chard. i know you have a sixth form can you give me your assessment on where we are with a—levels at the moment? give me your assessment on where we are with a-levels at the moment? my opinion is we are an absolute crisis mode. we have got, in my context, 100 students waiting to know what their next steps are in terms of whether they will be allowed to go on to university, whether those grades will stand or not, whether they will be rejected by universities, accepted, it isjust that great deal of confusion at the moment, which has followed... a real outpouring of emotion. forgive me, i wa nt to outpouring of emotion. forgive me, i want to break this news because we are hearing the welsh government has announced a—level and gcse students will be awarded grades predicted by their teachers. 42% of students at a leve

from new york, nada tawfik reports.ays the biden harris ticket will be in a strong position. what we are seeing is him staying in place, staying in the shadows and seeing resident pump foal over his own handling of the economy. that is what well forjoe biden over the months and we see it reflected in the pores. fork there is nothing ordinary about this election season. the typical issues that preoccupy campaigns have been overshadowed by the unprecedented challenges facing economic and social well—being of americans and that means inevitably the incumbent president trump will ultimately face more scrutiny than hisjoe biden. nada tawfik, bbc news. hello, this is bbc news with me, joanna gosling. the headlines: there‘s growing pressure on the uk government over a—level exam grades in england — after almost 40% were downgraded from teachers‘ estimates. this has been a national disaster, not just at the exam situation this has been a national disaster, notjust at the exam situation but the way that millions of children have

from new york, nada tawfik reports.is is what it should look like. the normallyjam packed arenas will be replaced by two hours of virtual programming each night. over the four days, speakers will include party heavyweights such as the obamas and the clintons and a mix of moderates progressive stars such as bernie sanders and alexandria occasio cortez. heading into the convention, this pollster says the biden—harris ticket is in a good position, leading by a comfortable margin. conventions really don't play a large role in the election anyway, so it's not going to really matter. in fact, it could just help it further. what we've seen is him staying in place, staying in the shadows, letting president trump, you know, fall over his own rhetoric and his own handling of the pandemic and the protests and the economy. that has worked for biden really well in the past couple of months and we see that in the polls. his low—profile campaign dubbed invisible by the republicans, has certainly helped him control his image, avoiding

here's more from our north america correspondent nada tawfik.n convention to put on a virtual show which format was an unexpected hit. it raised the stakes as republicans begin their convention. president trump will have four nights to counterjoe biden‘s message and convince undecided voters. his most loyal supporters are not worried, across the country, they have organised their own events just as this boat parade in newjersey. i think he's going to win overwhelmingly. she believes that donald trump will set a victory despite the dark cloud of the coronavirus and race relations. she does not believe the polls that show him behind joe biden nationally. there is a line in the sand that is been drawn and to be careful you vote for because the result of that election can change everything that we are familiar with. if president trump loses, what is the fear? ifear more destruction i fear more destruction of the family structure. trumper may have a mountain to climb with swing voters. he only narrowly won michigan and wisconsin and pennsylvania in 2

our reporter nada tawfik has more. democrat's general election campaign. instead, the party will be holding an unconventional convention because of health concerns surrounding the pandemic. this is what it should look like. but the normallyjam packed arenas will be replaced by two hours

— and he‘s promised to take part in each day of the convention. 0ur north america correspondent nada tawfiks raised the stakes as republicans begin their convention. president trump will have four nights to counter joe biden‘s message and convince undecided voters. his most loyal supporters aren‘t worried. across the country, they‘ve organised their own events, such as this boat parade in lake hopatcong, newjersey. i think he‘s going to win overwhelmingly. sylvia believes president trump will sail to victory, despite the dark cloud of the coronavirus, the economy and race relations. she doesn‘t believe the polls that show him behind joe biden nationally. there‘s a line in the sand that‘s been drawn and you have to be really careful who you vote for. because the results of that election can change everything that we‘re familiar with. if president trump loses, what is it that you fear? i fear socialism, i fear the destruction of small business.