The prospect of a post brexit trade deal is receding, say uk government sources, after a setback in the negotiations with the eu. This really is last chance saloon. And it is goodbye to the flying peacock. American airlines have banned their more nervous passengers from bringing emotional support animals into the cabin. Hello, im Christian Fraser in london, Laura Trevelyan is in new york. President trump is said to be livid that the American Food and Drug Administration was not the first to grant approval for the Pfizer Vaccine. The white house has already told the public it will be rolling out the vaccine from the 15th, contingent on the fdas approval; the scientists will meet next thursday. Dr anthony fauci, the countrys foremost expert on coronavirus says the way the fda is going about it, is the correct way. We scrutinise data very carefully, he said to guarantee to the American Public it is safe. But in defending the approach of the american regulator, dr fauci took a swipe at britains. The top Infectious Disease expert accused britains Regulatory Agency of taking a short cut, and not vetting the data from pfizers trial thoroughly enough. Heres what dr fauci told cbs news. If we had jumped over the hurdle here quickly and inappropriately, to gain an extra week or a week and a half, i think that the credibility of our regulatory process been damaged and we had more people. I love the bricks. They are great and good scientists with up but they took the data from the Pfizer Company and instead of scrutinising and really carefully, they said lets improve and that is it and they went with it. I love the brits. Werejoined now by dr fauci. I say this with the enormous amount of respect for you and appreciation for all the tremendous work you do in the United States but how qualified are you really to make a judgement on the work of the mhra panel, around a0 eminent scientists, vaccine experts who have looked at this and the human Medicines Commission here in the uk who i understand spoke for over a0 hours on the zoom in recent months . First of all, there really has been a misunderstanding and for that i am sorry and i apologise for that. I do have great faith in both the Scientific Community and the Regulatory Community at the uk. And anybody who knows me and my relationship with him over literally decades know that is the case. The point that was really i was trying to make and i did not make it are appropriately well, that is the reason why i welcome the opportunity to get on your show and say that i do have confidence it came out wrong and that was not the way i meant it to be. In the United States, there is such a considerable amount of tension of pushing back on the credibility of the safety and of the efficacy that if we in the United States had done it as quickly as the uk did that is nojudgement on states had done it as quickly as the uk did that is no judgement on the way the uk did it. Even though my state m e nts way the uk did it. Even though my statements did come across looking that way, that if we had for example approved it yesterday or tomorrow, theyre likely wouldve been pushed back on an already scrutinising society that has really i think in some respects in the us too much scepticism about the process, so when we had conversations, and i just had a recent conversation with auk just had a recent conversation with a uk station, the first thing they said was we beat you to it. We won the race. And i wanted to get the point, this is not a race. Where there is one winner and one good one and when the bad one. It is a bunch of companies and a bunch of countries trying as best as possible to get vaccines to their citizens as quickly and as they possibly. We are trying to do that in the United States with our process is one that ta kes states with our process is one that takes more time then was taken with the uk. And that isjust takes more time then was taken with the uk. And that is just a reality. Idid not the uk. And that is just a reality. I did not mean to apply any sloppiness even though it came out that way. If it did come i want to set the record straight, i have a great deal of confidence in what the uk does both scientifically and from a regulatory standpoint. If i somehow came a regulatory standpoint. If i somehow came across a regulatory standpoint. If i somehow came across differently i apologise. That is really important context. Thank you for making that point. I will review the statement the mhra has put out. There is a reason i want to get across. This is what they say in the statement. We will hear from an expert in a little after you, but he is saying is that because the mhra does not not work for the European Medicines Agency because of the Brexit Process what that means is they are slightly quieter than a number that would be this year and theres been a rolling review of some of the stuff. The point is come out this is what i think concerned a lot of people, when you question whether it is been rigorous enough, ive seen today on social media the nt fax Community Start to pick this up and it is already a tough enough battle getting people on site to take the vaccine. Record through. Getting people on site to take the vaccine. Record throughlj understand that. That vaccine. Record through. understand that. That is why it is reg retta ble understand that. That is why it is regrettable in some respects it was taken out of context when i said. Anti vaxxx. But i didnt say the right way in other respects. That is why i went to, your Programme Today to really make that clear. That to the british people and to the regulators and scientists i have the utmost confidence in my colleagues in the uk and i have felt that way for decades and that has not changed right now. Doctor fauci, is a possible it that you have felt under tremendous pressure from the white house and for the president and for america to be first to roll out the vaccine and that has something to do with this confusion . No, i have to say not. I personally have not felt pressure. We do things a certain way in the United States. Possibly a little different, not necessarily better or worse then what is done in the uk and i think that is where we slip and where i slipped. I made it same one was better than the other. We just same one was better than the other. Wejust do it same one was better than the other. We just do it a little same one was better than the other. Wejust do it a little bit differently. What the fda has done in real time is gone over all of the raw data in real time in a way that cannot possibly have been done anymore quickly. Again, that is not judgement on somebody who does a different weight. And it will take us different weight. And it will take us another week to get to the point where the fda will be able to with confidence make a statement regarding safety and efficacy. Who does in a different way. It will be safe and effective at the end of the day. The people in the uk will receive it and they will do really well and the people in the United States are going to receive it and were going to do pretty well. It is just unfortunate that we had that little bit of an interchange. We do things a bit more differently. That is all. Not better or worse. Just differently. Can ijust ask is all. Not better or worse. Just differently. Can i just ask you to respond to the fact that weve had almost 3000 people die from coronavirus here in the United States, 100,000 highland hospital. Is this the surge up on the surge that you are warning about . 100,000 in hospital. Yes it is. It is very troublesome. What we are seeing here is a really challenging situations. The numbers as they are right now are almost every day we break another record. We have over 2000 deaths per day, we now have top 100,000 people in the hospital. Anywhere close to or above 200,000 new cases on a single day. That is something that is just untenable for that to go on. And what we have not yet seen is the surge following the full brunt of the thanksgiving travel, as well as people who congregate in their homes or in other social settings. You usually see that are about two and a half or more weeks after the event, the event was just last week, so we still have not seen the full brunt of it and the concern that we have is that in two or three weeks, youll be right at the cusp of the beginning of the christmas and hanukkah season, which is going to be yet another challenge because there will be a lot of travel, a lot of congregating and social and family other events indoors, with dinners and gatherings, which would be another risk. So we are really concerned as we go through from december to january that we will strain our health care system, we are starting to see signs of the already in california, where they are already in california, where they a re really already in california, where they are really at that cusp of running got upi are really at that cusp of running got up i beds and of staff. This is a very challenging situation for us here in the United States. Running out of i see you beds. Doctor factory, we have to leave it there. Thank you for coming on the programme. There. Thank you for coming on the ro ramme. Youre there. Thank you for coming on the programme. Youre still widely respected here. Doctorfactory. We appreciate everything you do and the message you get across. Thank you for coming on. Doctor fauci. We arejoined were joined now by vaccine safety we are expert professor Stephen Evans a professor at London School of hygiene tropical medicine and until recently he was part of the Risk Assessment committee at the European Medicines Agency. Lovely to have you on the programme. Your response to what you have just heard from doctor fauci . He is a great man. He is a great sciences, and he is a champion of truth as you say on your bbc news. He is somebody who i have respected for as long as i have known about him. I dont know him personally, and i really respect him personally, and i really respect him for the way he has responded. I think that is exactly what most of us think that is exactly what most of us in the uk thought. That is that the fdas way of doing things, they are doing it as quickly as is right for them, and the uk process has been able in the special circumstances to move more rapidly. Not because of brexit, not because we are out of the eu, but simply because of the particular circumstances that we face now. And i think that this pandemic has amplified so many things, both good and bad but we have seen the time or and bad but we have seen the time or an the theft of ppe equipment, we seen the extremely good science and the bad science. Tom moores. It would be a real shame if there were a wage driven between uk regulators and scientists and those in the us for whom we have enormous respect. There way of doing things is different. I think we fully understand that. Lets talk about the elephant in the room. We all understand the pressure that dr factory has been in and he said on the programme before that he stays in the room so he can get the message across. in the room so he can get the message across. Dr fauci. But what is crucially important is the point i was making to him is that all these assesses the regulators are talking to one another, much confidence as possible to the public because it shouldnt be political. If it becomes political, if some people have suspicions of a brexit government and whether they rush the process but it becomes political end of the science of the comforters, people are going to take this vaccine. Science of a comfort. Absolutely right. I would have sympathy with them. We have somebody saying that we are a better country than france or germany, that is the mostst Gavin Williamson did today. I find that just appalling. Mostst Gavin Williamson did today. I find thatjust appalling. As Gavin Williamson did today. The pandemic has amplified that as an example of really bad use of language in a bad use of the respect that i and many others would have for our european colleagues. We are not better than the European Medicines Agency. We are now doing things ina medicines agency. We are now doing things in a slightly different way and in these unique circumstances, we have been able to assess that vaccine, not with me personally involved in it, but the people who have assessed that have did it really carefully. At any destruction of confidence is not simply confidence. This is not confidence ina confidence. This is not confidence in a motorcar. This is confidence in vaccination. Motorcars dont save lives, vaccination does. Did britain wa nt to lives, vaccination does. Did britain want to be first to approve the vaccine . Is there some vaccine nationalism here do you think . Not with those who are doing the work. Their commitment is totally to Public Health. They will want to bring ina Public Health. They will want to bring in a vaccine as quickly as they can, not to rush it through, or whether all of this scrutiny, i think they have done probably a more carefuljob think they have done probably a more careful job they think they have done probably a more carefuljob they might have done routinely. The world is looking at them. But i dont think this was a race as dr fauci said. It is not a race. We are not trying to beat the european medicine agency. We do it as quickly as we can we are in a Public Health emergency. Those in australia can afford to do it more slowly. They dont have the same level of public emergency as we do. With the regulators around the world talk to each other and they are aware of these things. But it is important that the key things are that the efficacy is sufficiently good, it is much better than we anticipated. We have studied enough people to rule out serious effects that occur commonly. And by commonly, i mean more frequently than one in 5000. That is common for effective vaccines. We wont know about the really rare in effects until we have put it in years. And we will be minor team for those more carefully tha n we will be minor team for those more carefully than weve ever done before. Moderating for those without dr evans, thank you very much. For the us, a vaccine couldnt be here soon enough because all the data is trending the wrong way. Not since the spring, during the pandemics first peak, have so many deaths been reported there were over 2,800 deaths on wednesday making it the deadliest day yet. More than 100,000 americans are in hospital that number has doubled since the beginning of november. I just want to show the seriousness of the number of covid deaths in america 2,80a deaths is more deaths thanjapan has had in the entire pandemic. Its more people than those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbour and approaching the rate of the number of people who died on september 11th. And states across the us are once again placing restrictions on their citizens. In california, governor gavin newsom today announced a stay at home order, banning gatherings and other nonessential activities, to stop local Health Services being overwhelmed. Joining us now is dr craig spencer, an emergency physician who is also the director of Global Health in emergency medicine at columbia university. Thank you so much forjoining us. Do you worried that americas er rooms arejust in you worried that americas er rooms are just in danger of you worried that americas er rooms arejust in danger of being overwhelmed at this moment . Absolutely. This is the time of the year when we are generally getting a lot busier in november and december. We start to see a lot of other things that fill up our emergency rooms. We have people boarding in the Emergency Departments as they wait for beds upstairs. What we see now all across the country come this is only being exacerbated and getting worse as we have more covid 19 cases mixed in with our regular patients. As dr fauci mentioned, we have over 100,000 people hospitalised and this is before this search we will see from the post thanksgiving Holiday Travel when more than 1 the post thanksgiving Holiday Travel when more than1 Million People were screened through tsa at airports. We will start seeing the impact of that later this week and into next week with the reality is that we will have a surge on a surge, we may have more hospital beds but we are reaching the bring in terms of the number of providers that we have, many are getting sick can we do have the same flexibility as we did earlier this outbreak, descendent providers throughout the country when things were more geographically isolated. Now urges all over the country but that we dont have much less ability in terms of how we will be able to handle it. That is why the federal government comes in. I been watching the president twitter feed today. Does this seem to be much comment about the crisis. Are you getting any help at all from the federal authorities . Here in the us, since the beginning, this has been state led, not because that is the best way to do that, that is the worst but the federal government has largely been absent. The one thing this government has really pushed from the beginning is a vaccine and we are lucky in that we will have that in record time thanks to the scientists and that support but the reality is we had local Health Departments and state health department, with their own plans, find their own supply ordering them from other countries, trying to source ppe and fighting against each other as opposed to collectively together with the support of the federal government and the result is that this is exactly what is happening. We had record cases yesterday and hospitalisations and deaths and things are only going to get worse because we have a lack of leadership still at the president ial level. Dr spencer, thank you very much forjoining us. As the number of patients hospitalised with coronavirus surges across the us, states are having to build temporary hospitals to try and cope. Take rhode island this week two new field hospitals were opened there after the state declared its conventional Hospital Capacity was full. The 900 new beds will be for noncritical patients. Lets bring in Sheldon Whitehouse hes the democratic senator for rhode island. Very good to have you with us senator. What are your concerns . Dr faucihas senator. What are your concerns . Dr fauci has just been on the programme and he is saying that we are still at the beginning of this second spiked. Where does this and it what this is mean for your state of rhode island . We are regularly adding more than 1000 cases a day in rhode island, which is a record in the fortu nate island, which is a record in the fortunate one. As your programme has pointed out, this week, we opened two additionalfield pointed out, this week, we opened two additional field hospitals to support our regular hospitals. That relieves pressure in the regular hospitals at the back end, it takes people out of the hospital who are ready to either go home or go to a nursing home or need lower levels of ca re before nursing home or need lower levels of care before one reason or another dont have a safe place to go to. But it doesnt do much to protect surges that might come at the front end, the emergency rooms, and so still watching very carefully, i toured one of our field hospitals just at the end of last week before it opened. And i tell you, it is quite a sight to see the rows and rows and rows of beds looking like the old pictures of the 2018 epidemic response. Sorry, 1918 epidemic response. Sorry, 1918 epidemic response. Sorry, 1918 epidemic response. Pretty sobering. We heard from the dr theyre saying we are not getting enough federal help. Yesterday, the House Speaker nancy pelosi and the Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer backed a bipartisan stimulus package, 908 billion which is a lot less from the 2 trillion the democrats were calling for. But it doesnt appear it is going to go anywhere because Mitch Mcconnell is stitching up his own plan with the treasury secretary. Is there any chance get something together before christmas . Unlikely. Leader mcconnell and the senate has refused to negotiate with democrats. A strategy is to put up bills that only his caucus like and not even everybody in his caucus, and then force a vote on them too i guess try to embarrass us and make speeches about how we didnt pass his bill. The serious way to do this is to sit down and negotiate, Speaker Pelosi has a ready given a lot of ground as you pointed out, stepping back from 2 trillion to and it is unfortunate we are in this predicament. In which Mitch Mcconnell has very little interest in moving forward and at the same time, we have a white house with a president fixated on an election that he lost and trying to lie his way back into power instead of paying attention to the covid 19 crisis which he frankly wasnt paying much attention to to begin with. That has been both executive leadership failure and this for some reason a republican blockade in the senate. Senator, and another topic, you have made more speeches about Climate Change than anybody else in the us senate now we havejoe biden who says he will be the Climate Change president. What should be his priority in his first week do you think . I think he has a signal to the world we are back. That we will joined the Paris Agreement and that all of our diplomatic efforts are going to be focused on solving the Climate Change problem. He also has to get things going in the us government. And hes had a very good signal that every single one of his appointees will be charged to get progress going on climate, notjust cabin into the Traditional Energy and environment agencies. And he has to ramp up engagement in congress to get a serious bill done, which is possible when as and if Corporate America decides it is going to engage in congress on the Climate Change. So far we feel but when they send a lobbyist to congress and their trade associations to congress and when they send their money into elections, all of it is completely disinterested in Climate Change and much of it is opposed to climate action. And with so much of violent weather here in the United States recently with these hurricanes in the forest fires, do you think more americans are convinced that our climate really is changing . Undoubtedly. People see it first hand and you see lobbying groups like the us farm bureau, which lobbied for the Farming Community and big agriculture, very much and dialling back there stance that Climate Change of the hoax and nothing should be done and this is ina nothing should be done and this is in a serious problem. They are now making more positive statements and starting to engage, but so far it has mostly been talk again, and congress, just as in your parliament, members know what people are saying when they are there, and thatis are saying when they are there, and that is Something Different than what they say when they are talking to the public and those things need to the public and those things need to start getting aligned in washington, dc. Senator whitehouse, thank you so much. So many doctors on the programme, it i elevated you to doctor. Thank you so much for coming on. Good to see you. Good to getan coming on. Good to see you. Good to get an update from rhode island. A lot of reaction on twitter. To the dock to factory interview. I think a lot of people impressed he would come on. lot of people impressed he would come on. Doctor fauci interview. And apologise for some of the comments he made. That is the son of a good leader i suppose. Somebody who can say he was wrong. A sign good leader. An exciting first half. I look forward to the next 30 minutes. Stay with us on bbc news. Hello there. Its been a cold day everywhere today, weve got another wintry mix of weather to come tonight and into tomorrow. Certainly a wintry scene here in highland scotland, some parts of scotland temperatures didnt really get much above freezing. For england and wales it was cold, it was wet, and it was miserable. A lot of clouds streaming in from off the atlantic. These shower clouds though are coming down. We will see a stream of showers for west wales and the southwest of england. This area of cloud here will probably take some weather into the southeast of england and east anglia, and the wet weather that we are seeing across Northern England will spill its way into scotland as that moves inland into that icy cold. So we are going to find snow falling in many places, some more snow over the northern pennines for a while. And a widespread frost and ice in scotland and Northern Ireland, a patchy frost in a really, for england and wales. Into the morning and snow could be a problem in scotland early on in the day. Some disruption mainly to the high level routes, there will be some snow to low levels for a while, but i think it will quickly turn to rain. And then rain could be a problem for the day, particularly in eastern scotland. Some heavy rain bringing some flooding. And the stronger winds will push the rain into Northern Ireland. Gales along the north coast. For england and wales the wet weather clears to the southeast of east anglia, moves up into Northern England. Still a bit sleety and maybe some snow over the pennines, but for the midlands and southern england it does become a lot drier. Maybe some sunshine. Its a cold day, though, and it will feel colder because the winds are going to be stronger. Stronger winds around the area of low pressure, thats bringing the wet weather. That will slide away over the weekend into france, and gradually over the weekend and will turn drier and quieter with the winds easing as well. But we are still in the cold air. Temperatures are not going to improve. And weve still got the wet weather around on saturday. Particularly for england and wales, it may be some sleet and snow over the Peak District, the welsh hills. And we got some whether weather coming into eastern parts of scotland. Northern ireland, eastern areas of england should become drier and a bit brighter as well. Those temperatures still struggling to five to 7 degrees. 0vernight as the winds drop and the skies clear we are going to have quite a frost around. And there may well be some mist, fog and low cloud. That could linger in some central areas throughout the day, so particularly cold here. For many, though, its going to be a dry day. Most of that wet weather has gone, there will be some sunshine coming through, but its still a cold day on sunday despite those light winds, highs of six or seven. A youre watching bbc news with me Laura Trevelyan in new york, Christian Fraser is in london. Our top stories. Just a few hours ago Dr Anthony Fauci appeared to criticise the speed of the uk regulators approval of the new pfizer coronavirus vaccine. We spoke to him on our programme dr fauci set the record straight. I have a great deal of confidence in what the uk does both scientifically and from a regulatory standpoint. If i somehow came across differently, i apologise for that. Talks on a post brexit trade deal seem to have hit a sticking point, with the uk accusing the European Union of making fresh demands at the 11th hour. Discussions between the two sides are continuing into the night. Also in the programme. As the balance of real power in the United States hinges on just one state, the republicans in georgia may find that one of their Biggest Challenges is coming from within. Well focus onjanuarys senate race in the peach state its time to decorate the Christmas Tree but watch out, there could be a koala hiding in yours. Eu and uk negotiators will are heading into another last night of negotiations in what they hoped would be the final the big push. The uk is said to have made some concessions on competition rules, but the bbcs Political EditorLaura Kuensberg is tweeting tonight that brexit talks have gone worse this afternoon. A senior govt source has told her that at the eleventh hour, the eu is bringing new elements into the negotiation. Laura says a breakthrough is still possible it could be all part of the theatrics she says but seemingly it wont be in the next 2a hours. Fishing rights have been a key stumbling block in the talk. It continues to be a major issue. The uk has offered to let eu fishing boats keep a0 of the catches they currently make in uk waters. But the eu insists it should be at least 80 . If theres no deal, the french fishermen worry theyll get nothing at all. 0ne significant date in the diary, is thursday 10th when eu leaders will come together for a European Council summit in brussels. But will they have a deal to discuss . Were joined now by Georgina Wright real a senior brexit analyst at the institute for government. Lovely to see you. All sorts of conflicting reports, sterling is down and up, read the tea leaves for us, what is happening . down and up, read the tea leaves for us, what is happening . I wish i knew what was happening. 0nly us, what is happening . I wish i knew what was happening. Only those at the heart of the negotiating room know what is going on. We know they are talking a lot and that is usually a good sign but we also know there are really tricky topics on there are really tricky topics on the table and if there is going to bea the table and if there is going to be a deal, it will require both sides to move. For that political sign off, the eu chief negotiator needs to make sure that all the eu states are behind it which is not easy. We talk about Boris Johnson a lot so let us talk about michel barnier, he has invested so much in this, clearly he is trying to get a deal but do you get the sense he finds some room in the negotiation and then goes back to the eu ambassadors to find some countries pushing back forcefully . First there is the way he has approached these negotiations, pretty much the same way all eu negotiators approached trade negotiations. So in a sense of the deal materialises, the content and substance will not be a surprise. The tricky thing in this negotiation is with coronavirus, the attention of eu leaders has been elsewhere, they have been focused on containing the virus and responding to that and looking at economic measures to prop up businesses which are at risk of failing. That is part of the problem, you leaders have not been following the talks as closely as they would like. So now you have countries worried and pushing to make sure their interests are protected by the end of the day, i think it will pass the test for eu countries. Which side has the most pressure on it do you think, who needs to deal most, the uk or the eu . It is a difficult question. Both sites stand to lose in a no deals scenario but equally both sides have said they want to deal but not at any price. Want to make sure their co re any price. Want to make sure their core interests a re any price. Want to make sure their core interests are safeguarded. The reality is, like any negotiation, result will be compromised and both sides will have to do this. If we are sides will have to do this. If we a re really close sides will have to do this. If we are really close to ideal, this is where the politically contentious stuff is on the table and negotiators are there hammering this out and we will have to see a couple of days if the deal actually materialises. Thank you very much for joining materialises. Thank you very much forjoining us. A crucialfew days ahead. Meanwhile over here. Meanwhile over here. Its rare that the political fate of the United States hinges on the voters ofjust one state. In the 2000 president ial election it was florida. And now injanuary 2021 its georgias turn. Both of Georgias Senate seats currently held by republicans are up for grabs in the states run off elections. The stakes couldnt be higher if democrats secure both it would be enough for them to draw level in the senate, but kamala harris, the Vice President would having the deciding vote. For republicans, this race is their last chance to stop democrats taking control of the magic triumvirate house, senate, and white house. Lets speak now to rashad richey, atlanta talk show host and former chief strategist for the Georgia Democratic party. Thank you for being with us. Historically, democrats have not done that well in georgia run offs but is the republican civil war helping . Yes, there republicans are imploding. The Sooners Donald trump lost the state of georgia, he started to blame the republic governor, that governor was endorsed by donald trump and appointed one of the two us senators currently in the run up. They now have conflict between each other. This has caused supporters of trump to go around and tell excited Trump Supporters not to vote in the january run off election until the election can be secured. What does that do . That deflates the excitement from the Republican Base which makes it even more competitive because you dont have the same level of excitement around these two republican senators in the run off. If we look at the polling today and what youre saying is right, it looks for Raphael Warnock but that 5296 looks for Raphael Warnock but that 52 for warnock and 50 for self but will suburban voters in atlanta voted forjoe biden, will they vote republican . I will tell you what is happening in our american political context, we have tribalism like never before. People are simply taking sites. You dont have the same moderate voters you would normally have. I think the election ofjoe biden normally have. I think the election of joe biden and normally have. I think the election ofjoe biden and the election of kamala harris, that was a mandate to govern another very different way. Georgia has the same sentiment so right now my recommendation to the senators is to abandon moderates and independents and excite the base to when the campaign and get progressive legislation done as soon as possible when she occupied that position. Laura gave me an americanism last week, she said joe biden did well around the country but his coat tails went very long. She meant that although he had performed well at the top of the ticket, he did not drag the house candidates with him. So that begs the question about the base, is he the question about the base, is he the right person to come to to georgia to get the base out . Mitch mcconnell thinks donald trump is. No, joe biden is not the guy to excite the Democratic Base but because he is the president elect, he has to come to georgia. Georgia democrats have a significant progressive wing right in metro atla nta progressive wing right in Metro Atlanta for sure and there really spread out across the state butjoe biden doesnt really excite them but senator harris excites a lot of them and you have some other progressives in the party who excite them. President 0bama is still hugely part popular. You have 0prah president 0bama is still hugely part popular. You have Oprah Winfrey campaigning for the democrats. All of these things combine to increase the vote to win and are still likely republican state. I will put this next question to our next guest but first to you, dear worry with all the fuss around the election post the fuss around the election post the vote in november, we could have a similarthing the vote in november, we could have a similar thing come january the vote in november, we could have a similar thing comejanuary the 6th and jack a similar thing comejanuary the 6th andjack a similar thing comejanuary the 6th and jack and if democrats lose, will they then say can be just the vote . Will they then say can be just the vote . Have they tried to write a role here . I expect however this turns out, you may have some complaints about things happen in the electorate and the methodology but here is the truth, you have 30 losses being filed 30 lawsuits being filed by the Trump Campaign and they have all been thrown out. People complain about losing but no one has ever taken it as far as trump has. I do not see that doing anything near like what the republicans have done and i do not see democrats supporting it at all without any evidence. But if they do lose, they will continue the rhetoric which has been going on. Thank you so much forjoining us. One of the Biggest Challenges facing republicans in georgia is coming from within will those who believe the president s claims of massive electoral fraud actually vote in january . Take a listen to lin wood, one of the pro trump lawyers, speaking last night in atlanta. They have not earned your vote. Dont you give it to them. Why would you go back and vote in another rigged election . Joining us now is the Lieutenant Governor of georgia, geoff duncan. Thank is a much for being with us. That language from the president s allies, is it damaging the republican cause in georgia . allies, is it damaging the republican cause in georgia . I can think of a worse idea for a republican in georgia the note to show up on january five and vote. It isa show up on january five and vote. It is a terrible idea and part of the misinformation that continues to fly around in this post election period. We worked hard to make sure we put on illegal election and we counted every single legal vote. We are finalising the process right now and im proud to report we have not seen systemic or organised fraud. I am proud of that as a georgian and as Lieutenant Governor. The president is coming to campaign on saturday, carl rhodes, architect of george bushs victory, has warned the president not to air his grievances saying his own legacy in the future of the Republican Party could be at sta ke, of the Republican Party could be at stake, do you agree those stakes are that high . Absolutely. I would encourage the president s to focus solely on getting two republican senators re elected to maintain the republican majority. I would make that recommendation. That is the short term issue. We have to refocus our post election approach here from talking about the disinformation in election fraud, how do we improve from this point for republicans long term. How do we take the wins that President Trump had over the la st that President Trump had over the last four years and improve on those . There is time for us to dissect this but we need to look ahead. I was listening today to the secretary of state, a lifelong conservative, he voted for the president and contributes to his campaign financially and he said now the president has thrown is under the president has thrown is under the bus. Do you share that sentiment and feel like you have been betrayed by the president . Our secretary of state is one of the most conservative folk in our capital, i have served with him in the house of representatives and he is an incredible individual. He is an engineer by trade. He works hard and lam engineer by trade. He works hard and i am proud of the effort he has put forward. It troubles me to watch people who try to smear him and troubles me to think someone would spread lies and misinformation for this purpose of flipping an election, not rooting out fraud and finding anomalies but simply trying to flip that election. He is too good of a man and an person to smear like that. All of a sudden is here, we are proud, all three of us voted and campaign for donald trump. Just because a person may vote for didnot when the election, it does not change yourjob when the election, it does not change your job description. When the election, it does not change yourjob description. We are still in charge of making sure we put on a fairy election. Youre not directly criticising the president , it is the president that called brad gratton sparked an enemy of the people. The president has encouraged the Death Threats you and your collea g u es the Death Threats you and your colleagues have been facing, why can you not call him out by name . Im focusing on remaining positive. That has been my approach throughout my career. I do not want to smear anyone or throw blame, ijust want to go and do myjob like my colleagues do. I am not going to talk about any of those Security Issues on this interview. Arent you worried, the tenth governor, about the fact that Republican Senate candidates are using exactly the same language as the president. They are casting doubt on the integrity of your colleagues. I highly encourage them to focus on winning the electionjanuary encourage them to focus on winning the election january five, encourage them to focus on winning the electionjanuary five, we do not wa nt the electionjanuary five, we do not want to alienate anybody at this point. Not anybody in the suburbs or the 10 in the middle or the rural parts of our state. We cannot ao alienating anybody, this election is too important. 0ur senators have refer to this as the firewall. The constitution gives us the opportunity to work against the idea to make sure we have a majority in the senate. To make sure if the President Biden wants to raise taxes, we have the support in the senate to work against that and if he wants to put regulation against small ben businesses in the name of the environment, we have the people there. I want them to focus hundred and 10 on the effort to get re elected, i certainly will do so. What happens to you think these two republican senators lose . Are you going to face more pain on the 6th of january . Going to face more pain on the 6th ofjanuary . I hope not. I hope we can continue to work ahead regardless of the outcome. We have been doing election is here for over a hundred years in georgia. This is nothing new. There is a lot of emotion wrapped around us, i get that people breathe differently, people win differently people lose differently but we are georgians and americans and our best days are in front of us. I hope january five, regardless of the outcome and we are able to move forward and look opportunities to grow our economy and get our folks back back on track once this pandemic passes. We have a lot of things we need to tackle and i hope on january lot of things we need to tackle and i hope onjanuary six, we wake up and we are able to do that. Lieutenant governor of georgia, thank you very much forjoining us. All eyes will be on the president when he goes to georgia on saturday. The Us Transportation Department has had enough. Theyre fed up with passengers who bring animals onto flights for emotional support. Why . Well, if youve ever seen an emotional support rotweiller on a flight, as i have, barking at the stewards, you know the definition of Service Animal has been stretched. So as of next month, emotional support ducks, turkeys and that infamous peacock which was seen at Newark Airport in 2018, will all be banned. So too mini horses. This is flirty, spotted onboard an American Airlines flight from chicago to omaha last year. Not easy to put under the seat. Squirrels are also out. Which is not a surprise. We all know squirrels can be too emotional the Department Says that on the whole there have been too many disruptions on board, with unusual species and misbehaving animals and all in all it has eroded public trust in legitimate Service Animals. Like the common goldfish for example which i intend to take with me on my next Cross Country flight. Did you know that flirty was wearing a nappy . Really, rottweiler . The captain was so angry he came out and lectured the passenger and other air marshals when we landed who took off the passenger and rottweilers. So you can see airlines had enough. Stay with us on bbc news, still to come. Rather than a peacock on your Christmas Tree, you could find a koala hiding on yours. We will explain later. Four people have died and one other person has been injured after an explosion at a waste Water Treatment works in avonmouth near bristol. Fire crews and police were called to the site of the blast this morning. A Major Incident has been declared. Jon kay reports. 11 20am and a Major Incident, just a quarter of a mile from the m5 motorway. A large explosion in one of the giant tanks at this Sewage Treatment works, run by wessex water. There was like a gentle whoosh at first, followed by an extremely loud explosion. This lorry driver was delivering goods at the time and got trapped on the neighbouring site. It sounded like a large collapse of something. It was not like a sound i had heard before. I didnt know what it was. Pure confusion. Nobody knew what the situation was. Teams from six fire stations across bristol raced to the scene but this evening, it emerged that this was no longer a rescue operation. Sadly, despite the best efforts of all those involved, we can confirm there have been four fatalities. This includes three employees of wessex water and one contractor. A fifth person has been taken to hospital but their injuries are not thought to be life threatening. Police are promising a thorough investigation involving several agencies. But they say the incident is not believed to be terror related and theres no risk to the wider public. Jawad was working at a warehouse a mile away. I said straightaway it is an explosion because i was in my office and i felt it. You felt it . Yes, like shaking, you know. That must have been terrifying . Yeah, yeah. It was a really bad moment for everyone, the workers here. In a statement tonight, wessex water described the incident as tragic, saying staff are absolutely devastated. Jon kay, bbc news, avonmouth. The Hong Kong Media mogul and founder of the apple daily newspaper, jimmy lai, has been remanded in custody until april the 16th next year after being denied bail over a fraud charge. Two other executives of next media have been granted bail. Mr lai has repeatedly denounced beijings increasing controls over hong kong. Danny vincent reports from hong kong. This is the moment Millionaire Media tycoon was taken into custody. Critics say it is the latest example of political persecution in hong kong. Hours before his detention, he spoke exclusively to the bbc. The 73 year old is under investigation for violating the National Security law. He sensed he may be living on borrowed time. That is the easiest way to control you, thats the cheapest way to control your and the most effective way and they know it. They are very good at it. In august, he became one of the most high profile arrests under a draconian National Security law, more than 200 police raided his newspaper. They confiscated documents said to implicate him in fraud but National Security charges means he could face life in prison. Jimmy life has long been an outspoken critic and target of beijing. His paper has daily is the daily best selling paper in hong kong. He is seen as the face of descent. His detention is seen as a warning by pro democracy campaigners. Activists say hong kong is facing an unprecedented crackdown. Yesterday 2a year old joshua wong was sentenced to 13 months in prison for taking part in protests last year. Mr ley continued to campaign after his arrest. The power we have is to have the voice in support of the free world on our site. The free world will be on site, it will be supporting us because they know that we are sharing the same value as theirs. They know that we are fighting in the frontier for their value if we lose. That means the defeat of the value system. Danny vincent reporting from hong kong. Decorating the Christmas Tree is a much loved festive tradition for many. Once the lights are draped and the final decoration is hung, your work is pretty much done. And that was very much the case for the Mccormick Family from adelaide in australia. Until they came home on wednesday evening and noticed something was amiss. The decorations were all over the floor and their dog was unusually interested in the tree. It was at that pointthat they discovered a koala in the tree. It was at that point that they discovered a koala in the tree. A kaola that didnt seem to realise this was a fake tree, she still tried eating the leaves off it even though they were plastic. The mccormicks suspected it crawled in when the doors were open. Anyway they quickly called a local rescue shelter that came to retrieve and she was later released it into a tree in a nearby bushy area. Hello there, the past 2a hour support and wintry mix of weather. Scotla nd support and wintry mix of weather. Scotland snow on early friday will turn to rain in most areas. Strengthening winds bringing wet weather into Northern Ireland. In wales, most of the wet weather heading north but there was obese late over the pennines. The midlands and southern england, drive through the day with sunshine but it also be cold wherever you are and it will feel cold because we had stronger winds on friday, especially for the coast. The wind continued blowing more wet weather, mostly rain during friday evening. Into the weekend, slowly but surely we should see it turn drier with winds dropping as well but still cold air so temperatures will not change a great deal. The reason we get the wet and windy weather is that deeper area of low pressure, it starts to fill and wea ken low pressure, it starts to fill and weaken and head south during saturday bobby still have wet weather on saturday, especially for england and wales. Sleet and snow in the Peak District and over the welsh hills, wet weather sliding towards the south west. Wet weather over scotland, some rain until snow in the east but for Northern Ireland, eastern england, it is turning drier, still cold, the wind is easing down during the day and they will drop further overnight because the low pressure continues to slide down into france, taking the wet and windy weather away with it but we still have cold air and with the winds following, there will be a frost and could be missed, fog and low cloud overnight into sunday morning. That will be slow to clear and central regions. Most places will be dry, some sunshine coming through away from the mist and fog but it is a cold day, for, five or 6 degrees at best. Into the cold air, we have another area of low pressure moving on from the atlantic. It looked like it would move further north and england and wales and threaten sleet and snow but now it looks like it will grace the far south west so a lot of places will be dry. We still have cold air and frost on monday. Some sunshine away from the fog on monday. Temperatures struggling to 3 a in the uk. That pressure moving into the south west will move into france, moving around another area of low pressure in the north sea, this one will move towards scotland and the northern half of the country, some rain and snow in the mountains. Elsewhere, getting pushed down into Northern Ireland and much of england and wales. The Channel Islands should be dry and cold. Not so much frost and fog around but temperatures still only five or 6 degrees. Looking further ahead, this is a jet stream, if they were north of the uk we would be in mild air but they are sitting south or heading right across the uk and as they do, they pick up low pressure and drive them our way, keeping the unsettled weather going thursday into friday and perhaps into saturday as well. We will put the jet stream back on there, south of the uk so we remain in that colder air. So later on next week, we maintain this very u nsettled week, we maintain this very unsettled theme, mostly rain still pretty cold. Tonight at ten more than 60,000 people have now died in the uk with coronavirus. Yet another family left grieving 79 year old Mickey Morris died within a week of falling ill. Its going to take us as individuals, as family members, and as a country and as a whole world, a long time to recover from Something Like this. The first doses of the newly approved Pfizer Vaccine have arrived in the uk. The roll out begins next week. Well have more on who will get the jab and when. Also tonight. Four people have been killed after a blast at a Water Treatment site near Bristol Police say it was a tragic incident. Brexit talks going late into the night reports that the prospect of a breakthrough in negotiations between the uk and eu is receding