showing borisjohnson did take part in a virtual downing street quiz last christmas. and the eldest daughter of america's first astronaut, alan shepard, makes a trip to the edge of space at the age of 7a. and it's going to be a nail—biter. max verstappen beats lewis hamilton to pole position for sunday's formula one title decider in abu dhabi. hello and welcome to bbc news. president biden has promised federal aid after tornadoes devastated at least five us states, flattening whole towns. the worst hit state is kentucky, where the governor, andy beshear, says at least 70 people have been killed, many of them in a candle factory in the town of mayfield. there have been reports of deaths, too, in arkansas, missouri, tennessee and illinois, where six amazon workers have been confirmed dead after the roof of their warehouse collapsed. our north america correspondent nomia iqbal reports. the scale of the destruction has been extraordinary. in the dead of night, dark funnel clouds roared across six states in four hours at a speed of 220 mph, obliterating everything in their path. this small town of mayfield in kentucky has been hit hard. workers on christmas shifts at this candle factory were buried by several tornadoes that came hurtling in the dark. it is thought up to 110 people were inside. a0 have made it out. this has been the most devastating tornado event in our state's history, and for those that have seen it, what it's done here in grace county and elsewhere, it's indescribable. a state of emergency has been declared in kentucky as a huge rescue operation gets under way, but authorities face huge challenges. a police station in mayfield has been destroyed and firefighters have lost equipment. there is no power. nearly 200 troops from the national guard are helping, and more than half of the population in this town are without electricity and water in one of the coldest months of the year. millions of americans knew extreme weather was coming. they have been issued with weather alerts for several weeks. this country is used to tornadoes. there was one here in kentucky earlier in the week. but this swarm of tornadoes has stunned people due to its speed and ferocity. in the southern state of arkansas, a nursing home was badly damaged, killing at least one person, injuring several and trapping more than a dozen inside. in the midwest state of illinois, an amazon warehouse was ripped apart after the roof partially collapsed. at least two people have died. president biden has called it an unimaginable tragedy. we still don't know how many lives were lost on the full extent of the damage. but i want to emphasise what i told all the governors. the federal government will do everything, absolutely everything, it can possibly do to help. forecasters say the storm has now weakened, but americans are being urged to get ready for more severe weather as the storms continue to sweep across the country. i'm joined now by victor gensini, a meteorology professor at the northern illinois university. you know people who have been affected. just how bad has this been? in affected. just how bad has this been? ., ., , ., . . been? in one word, historic. we are looking _ been? in one word, historic. we are looking at — been? in one word, historic. we are looking at a _ been? in one word, historic. we are looking at a legendary - are looking at a legendary tornado event here in the united states, one like we have probably not seen since 1925, 18 march 1925 to be exact, which had a tornado occur that took a path length of about 219 miles. and last night, just to give you some context, the tornado event probably crossed nearly 400 kilometres, 250 miles, starting just north of little rock, arkansas, passing through the state of missouri, the state of tennessee, and eventually doing probably is most prolific damage in the state of kentucky. right now, many of us are just sort of trying to really unpack what happened yesterday as it is just absolutely historic. victor, whether is obviously unpredictable. that is the very nature of it, but we didn't really have any warnings about this. what made it so bad? well, there were actually significant warnings in advance for this storm. i significant warnings in advance forthis storm. i mean, significant warnings in advance for this storm. i mean, several daysin for this storm. i mean, several days in advance the storm prediction centre in northern 0klahoma, which is in charge of issuing severe weather outlooks for events like this, did have some significant outlooks for yesterday's tornadoes. and as we drew closer to the event, tornado watches, which means the conditions that are favourable for these types of events to occur, were issued hours in advance, and honestly even warnings, which means the tornadoes have been spotted, were also being issued as well. the big challenge here is that these tornadoes occurred at night in the dark. people are sleeping, people are not expecting these types of tornado events to occur, which really creates a lot of exposure and vulnerability, which is always a big deal when we have these types of events at night. we have these types of events at niuht. ~ ., i. we have these types of events at niuht. ~ ., ,, we have these types of events at niuht. ~ ., , at night. would you say it is too simplistic _ at night. would you say it is too simplistic to _ at night. would you say it is too simplistic to say - at night. would you say it is too simplistic to say that i too simplistic to say that these have been linked to climate change?— these have been linked to climate change? that would certainly be _ climate change? that would certainly be a _ climate change? that would certainly be a simplistic - climate change? that would i certainly be a simplistic view, yes. there's a lot of things unfolding. there is certainly the climate change angle. there's also the human exposure, where cities are growing larger and we are becoming more vulnerable to tornadoes. and where tornadoes are occurring also changing with respect to time. we cannot rule out climate change in terms of its contribution to an event like last night. it is probably certainly not the only cause, the only factor, and certainly research going forward at places like northern illinois university and others will continue to try to address these questions.— these questions. and given climate change _ these questions. and given climate change probably i these questions. and given climate change probably is| climate change probably is going to get worse and cities are probably going to get bigger, do you expect to see more of these kinds of occurrences? well, ifi can hanu occurrences? well, ifi can hang my — occurrences? well, ifi can hang my hat on _ occurrences? well, ifi can hang my hat on one - occurrences? well, ifi can hang my hat on one thing, occurrences? well, ifi can l hang my hat on one thing, it occurrences? well, ifi can - hang my hat on one thing, it is that we will continue to see tornado disasters in the future regardless of what happens with climate change as our cities grow larger. it is really our research groups and others that are looking at the event like we saw last night. those continue to get more frequent. we will probably be talking about these events a lot more, unfortunately.— unfortunately. victor, really extreme _ unfortunately. victor, really extreme pictures _ unfortunately. victor, really extreme pictures we - unfortunately. victor, really extreme pictures we have . unfortunately. victor, really i extreme pictures we have been looking at, and i hope everyone manages to recover. thank you very much indeed. let's get some of the day's other news: the us state department top officialfor europe, karen donfried, is to travel to ukraine and russia for talks about moscow's huge military build—up on the ukrainian border. foreign ministers from the g7 economic powers have been meeting in britain to try to present a united front to moscow. people in the pacific territory of new caledonia are voting in a third and final referendum on independence from france. pro—independence campaigners are boycotting the vote. the territory's voters rejected breaking with france in 2018 and again last year. a supreme courtjudge in brazil has ruled that foreign visitors will need to produce a covid vaccination certificate in order to enter the country. the ruling invalidates controversial regulations issued previously by the national health agency, who demanded only a negative pcr test for foreigners arriving in brazil. tens of thousands of people have marched through vienna to protest against a covid vaccine mandate for all adults. since the rules came into effect last month, anyone who hasn't been vaccinated or recently contracted covid—19 has only been able to leave home in special circumstances. around 1,400 police officers were on duty to oversee the protest. scientists have warned that without further restrictions, the uk is facing a wave of coronavirus infections injanuary that could be larger than any seen before. people aged between 30 and 39 in england will be able to start booking their boosterjabs from monday. here is our health correspondent katharine da costa. at vaccine centres around the uk, the race is on to get even more jabs into arms and boost our defences against what may become the biggest wave of covid infections we've seen so far. people were lining up to get their shots at this vaccine centre in grimsby. it's more worrying, i think, because you just — we don't know exactly what's going to happen, so it's basically just to be safe. ijust want to protect people, as well, that i'm going to be in contact with. the new variant, 0micron, is spreading fast, doubling every 2.5 days. new modelling has looked at what that might mean for how things might turn out in england under plan b, which sets out a range for possible outcomes. so what does that mean for cases? researchers expect a substantial wait, bigger than last winter, when daily cases peaked at more than 50,000. there is still a lot of uncertainty about how many may end up in hospital, because we do not know whether 0micron causes more severe illness. many people are fully vaccinated, which should help. by the and of april deaths may range from 25,000 to 75,000, depending on how well vaccines perform, but scientists hope they will still provide good protection against serious disease. the research also looked at the impact of introducing new restrictions. working from home was enough to reduce the impact of 0micron in the most optimistic scenario, but in the most pessimistic outcome, it would take lockdown with schools open to prevent intense pressure on hospitals. what we do know is very stringent restrictions have their own downsides. they can be devastating for individuals, families and businesses, especially in the lead—up to christmas, so policymakers have some very difficult decisions to make. the government focus now is on bumping up the booster campaign to 500,000jabs per day, with more age groups expected to be invited. scientists say three doses are needed to protect against 0micron infection. we know the booster doses give very effective protection. te do not know how long it will last. it may not be long lasting, but the booster doses will be crucial. we cannotjust rely on the vaccine campaign to control those, we must wear masks and do all the other things— we have learned to do too. health officials say the small contagion variant could cause more significant pressure for the health service. the scottish government is considering further restrictions from next week. the westminster government says current measures in england remain proportionate, but it will take further action if needed to protect lives and the nhs. katharine da costa, bbc news. the prime minister's office has acknowledged that borisjohnson briefly took part in a quiz in downing street a year ago, saying the event was to thank staff for their hard work during the pandemic. it was at a time when london was in lockdown and no social gatherings were allowed. the sunday mirror has published a story including a picture in which borisjohnson can be seen sitting near two colleagues. because of the covid restrictions in the uk but most particularly in london, social interactions between people who do not live together were banned. forthe do not live together were banned. for the last couple of weeks, the last ten days or so, there has been story after story after story relating to gatherings that took place in downing street and the broader british government which have raised questions about whether they were within the spirit or even the letter of the rules. the latest incarnation of this, as you say, the sunday mirror, has just been published as you say, the sunday mirror, hasjust been published in as you say, the sunday mirror, has just been published in the last hour or so, and has just been published in the last hour orso, and in particular a picture. the bbc was reporting the other day that they had been a quiz that had taken place, organised by number ten, will with some people taking part virtually and others physically in the building. what was striking about the development in the last hour is the picture that we can see there. the prime minister popped into this room, one of the state rooms in downing street, to surprise his staff and host around of this quiz. you will see there is a gentleman to his right, a picture on the left, who has tinsel wrapped around his neck. now, i am told that neither of the two people you can see in the two people you can see in the picture, there is someone just to the prime minister's left on the right of the screen, you can't see now, we have them then, but those two people, we are told, are members of his closest staff who had come in to help him with the technology, the whole business of zoom or whatever it is, remote contributors. there were other teams and groups of staff and the different departments of downing street, i am told, that did take part in the building but were doing so, i am told, from their own desk. this is bbc news. the headlines: president biden has pledged federal aid after tornadoes devastated a string of us states, flattening whole towns and killing at least 70 people. there is a warning that the uk faces a substantial wave of 0micron infections next month that might overwhelm the national health service. walter, a 21—year—old female hooded vulture, has new shoes. gaining the trust of a sharp—clawed bird of prey to put them on is not the easiestjob in the world. dr ellen rasidi and a team of fellow veterinary surgeon's and engineers in singapore have managed just that. the reason for the bird shoes is to treat lesions on their claws known as bumblefoot, which can grow worse if not treated or given time to heal. let's go live to singapore where we can find out more about the use of 3d—printing in veterinary medicine from dr ellen rasidi, of thejurong bird park wildlife reserve. thank you forjoining us. a viewers who might not know that this is a big problem, why are lesions on claws such a big problem?— lesions on claws such a big roblem? ., , , problem? good morning. hyper dermatitis— problem? good morning. hyper dermatitis is _ problem? good morning. hyper dermatitis is unfortunately - problem? good morning. hyper dermatitis is unfortunately a - dermatitis is unfortunately a common problem in birds under human care. these are essentially pressure sores on the bottom of their feet. essentially pressure sores on the bottom of theirfeet. they can be really quite painful. so we got to make sure that these lesions, that we take care of their wealth and happiness and comfort. �* g; , , ., comfort. and the 3d use of these sd — comfort. and the 3d use of these 3d shoes _ comfort. and the 3d use of these 3d shoes has - comfort. and the 3d use of these 3d shoes has been i comfort. and the 3d use of these 3d shoes has been a | comfort. and the 3d use of. these 3d shoes has been a bit of a game changer. how exactly can you measure or scan a bird's foot or claw, to put these on?— bird's foot or claw, to put these on? ~ ., ~ ., these on? we work with our desiun these on? we work with our design team _ these on? we work with our design team to _ these on? we work with our design team to create - these on? we work with ourj design team to create these shoes, normally in traditional treatment you would bandage the foot to relieve the pressure on the soul. we wanted something that would be a bit more sustainable, a bit easierfor the birds to wear, and of course non—toxic as well. so we worked with this team to create what is essentially a printed silicon slipper, that is customised to the bird, and the bird can just wear this quite comfortably for the period of time that it takes for the lesions to heal.- time that it takes for the lesions to heal. and i guess the fact it — lesions to heal. and i guess the fact it is — lesions to heal. and i guess the fact it is so _ lesions to heal. and i guess the fact it is 3d means - lesions to heal. and i guess the fact it is 3d means it. lesions to heal. and i guess| the fact it is 3d means it can the fact it is so means it can be customised for a variety of different birds?— different birds? absolutely, this is one _ different birds? absolutely, this is one of _ different birds? absolutely, this is one of our _ different birds? absolutely, this is one of our geriatric i this is one of our geriatric birds, miguel, his toes go here, so the angle of these doses going to change, but also these little holes are where his particular lesions were. so in this case it was related to arthritis. but as a common problem in all the birds as well. so we are able to customise them to each individual patient, which is a relief. ~ ., individual patient, which is a relief. ~ . ., g; , relief. we had about 3d printing _ relief. we had about 3d printing and _ relief. we had about 3d printing and lots - relief. we had about 3d printing and lots of - relief. we had about 3d - printing and lots of different industries. is this an innovation that is going to revolutionise lots of different other fields in terms of veterinary care?- other fields in terms of veterinary care? we are very luc to veterinary care? we are very lucky to have _ veterinary care? we are very lucky to have collaborators l veterinary care? we are very| lucky to have collaborators at the centre in the us, i think 3d printing has such a wide range of applications, notjust in this type of thing but lots of different medical industries. it really allows you to customise treatment for each individual patient, which particularly in veterinary science, particularly in avian medicine, is really important. and going forward, do you see this being the future, really, in terms of veterinary care? do you feel that maybe instead of past procedures, but 3d is the way forward? i past procedures, but 3d is the way forward?— way forward? i think 3d printing _ way forward? i think 3d printing can _ way forward? i think 3d printing can be - way forward? i think 3d printing can be used - way forward? i think 3d printing can be used in| way forward? i think sd| printing can be used in a way forward? i think 3d - printing can be used in a lot of complementary ways. i don't necessarily think it is going to replace any of those traditional things, to replace any of those traditionalthings, but to replace any of those traditional things, but it will be able to move these things forward into the future, and allow us to do things that are allow us to do things that are a bit more customisable, they might be better in terms of being able to suit a particular species better than traditional methods, but i think the methods, but i think the methods would still be the same and this would just give us a bit of extra refinement, i think. ., , bit of extra refinement, i think. . , , think. really interesting. thank you _ think. really interesting. thank you so _ think. really interesting. thank you so much - think. really interesting. thank you so much for. think. really interesting. - thank you so much forjoining us live from singapore. farmers in india have begun leaving campus on the outskirts of delhi where they have been protesting for more than a year, after winning the battle with the government over agricultural reforms, many are now heading back home on convoys of tractors. india's prime minister narendra modi agreed to scrap the reforms last month in a row u—turn. now it's time for sport with my colleague 0lly foster. the formula 1 championship will be decided sunday, and max verstappen is on pole for the abu dhabi grand prix, but alongside him on the front row will be his title rival, raining champion lewis hamilton. the pair a little on points at the top of the standings. we have not had that heading into the final grand prix of a season since 1974. hamilton is going for a record eight f1 titles, max verstappen for his first, and it is a straight race to the line between the two, or if both fail to finish or out of the points, then max verstappen will clinch the title because of his nine race winds over hamilton's eight. at the top of the premier league, manchester city me little by one point with chelsea one point further back stop that is after all three of them one, all thanks to penalties. city made quite hard work of it against michaels, raheem sterling scoring his 100 premier league goal, a second—half penalty after a debatable handball decision. michael's plate after much with ten men, rothman are picking up to yellow cards in the space of a minute before the space of a minute before the break. steven gerrard was given a great welcome on his first return to enfield. the aston villa manager had 17 years as a liverpool player, but it was his old side that came out on top, just the one goalfrom the penalty, mo salah the score after he was fouled. this 21st of the season in all competitions. georgina scored two penalties for chelsea, including the 94th minute when as they beat leeds 3—2. arsenal beat southampton 3—0, even though they were missing the captain. manchester united one 1-0 at captain. manchester united one 1—0 at norwich, thanks to a cristiano ronaldo penalty. in the german bundesliga, bound munich extended their lead to six points after coming from behind to beat nights. jemima cielo with the winner. second—place borussia dortmund dropped points during one happen one at bottom. in la liga, espanyol beat the dante 4—3. australia have won the first ashes test by nine wickets. they snuffed out england's faint hopes by lunch. that was on the fourth day in brisbane. england were hoping to build in a brilliant partnership between dawid malan and captainjoe root. both were gone in a matter of a few overs from the start. england added just 77 runs for the last eight wickets before they were bowled out for 297. that left australia needing just 20 runs to wind. they reached that with ease to go one up in the series.- go one up in the series. yeah, exceptionally _ go one up in the series. yeah, exceptionally proud, - go one up in the series. yeah, exceptionally proud, i- go one up in the series. yeah, exceptionally proud, i thought nathan lyon, i said last night, forget about it, you are never going to get your 400. so it was nice he got that done this morning. i said was nice he got that done this morning. isaid maybe was nice he got that done this morning. i said maybe next summer. but really heavy for him, i think he bowled really well yesterday.— well yesterday. bitterly disappointing, - well yesterday. bitterly disappointing, because j well yesterday. bitterly i disappointing, because we well yesterday. bitterly - disappointing, because we put a lot of— disappointing, because we put a lot of work in last night, built— lot of work in last night, built up— lot of work in last night, built up that big partnership, and that_ built up that big partnership, and that was really on me and dawid — and that was really on me and dawid malan to make the most of that opportunity this morning. credits — that opportunity this morning. credits to— that opportunity this morning. credits to australia, they put the ball— credits to australia, they put the ball in good areas. that is all our the ball in good areas. that is all your spotify _ the ball in good areas. that is all your spotify now. -- i the ball in good areas. that is all your spotify now. -- sport| all your spotify now. —— sport for now. the eldest daughter of america's first astronaut, alan shepherd, has made a trip to the edge of space at the age of 74. laura shepard churchley took off on board a commercial spacecraft in west texas, owned byjeff bezos�* blue 0rigin company. mark lobel reports. three, two, one. from rural texas to the edge of space. laura shepard churchley following in herfather�*s footsteps 60 years after his pioneering flight is the first american to make the journey. in a spacecraft named after him. mission control has confirmed new shepard has cleared the tower and is on its way to space. it was a once—in—a—lifetime ride on board this fully autonomous six—storey tall commercial flight reaching an altitude of over 100 kilometres during a thrilling 10—minute trip. long enough to experience zero gravity, though. whoa! never seen anything like this. this tops an unforgettable year for human space flight, with private space companies aplenty, including space x and virgin galactic. blue 0rigin launched its first crewed space flight injuly carrying its founder, jeff bezos. captain kirk himself! star trek�*s william shatner, the oldest person to make it into space, followed in october. this third flight is blue 0rigin's first full capacity one with six people on board which descended safely back to earth. the 74—year—old's verdict? awesome! awesome, she says. and following in her father's footsteps? i thought about study coming down, and gosh, he didn't even get to enjoy anything i enjoyed. he was working. he was all business. _ enjoyed. he was working. he was all business. right, _ enjoyed. he was working. he was all business. right, he— enjoyed. he was working. he was all business. right, he had i enjoyed. he was working. he was all business. right, he had to i all business. right, he had to do it himself. _ all business. right, he had to do it himself. i went - all business. right, he had to do it himself. i went on i the ride. have you seen how small his capsule was? i the ride. have you seen how small his capsule was? he i small his capsule was? he wasn't _ small his capsule was? he wasn't doing somersaults, he didn't— wasn't doing somersaults, he didn't have your windows. the onl wa didn't have your windows. the only way he — didn't have your windows. the only way he knew _ didn't have your windows. tie: only way he knew he was weightless was his straps were flying. weightless was his straps were fl in. weightless was his straps were fl inc. , .., , weightless was his straps were flin. , , flying. right, because he was stra ed flying. right, because he was strapped in- _ underlining just how remarkably space travel has changed since 1961. how it will evolve in 2022 and beyond for the next generation, well, that's anyone's guess. mark lobel, bbc news. finally, long queues formed here in england as limited—edition t—shirts made by the street artist banksy went on sale. the bristol—born artist announced on friday night that the shirts would go on sale at locations in the city. he said they had been created to show support for the four people about to go on trial accused of pulling down the statue of slave trader edward colston. the shirts quickly began appearing for resale online, with one seller asking for £9,000. that's $11 , 945 us. let's bring you a quick reminder of our menus, president biden says the latest outbreak of tornadoes in the united states which had hit six states is one of the largest in history, he has declared a state of emergency in kentucky, where more than 70 people have died. don't forget, there is much more on our website, you will find all of the news, sport, business and lots more besides that updated 24 hours a day. from me and the rest of the team, that is it. goodbye for now. hello there. after a very cold start to december and a cold end to november, we're moving into a milder, rather cloudy, wet phase. certainly through this weekend into next week, it stays relatively mild, but settled down thanks to high pressure. sunday's a very mild day, but it will often be cloudy with outbreaks of rain. now, the mild air has been working its way in from the west through today, tangled in these weather fronts, which have brought quite a bit of cloud and outbreaks of rain. you can see the milder colours spreading to much of the country, particularly across england and wales. now, through this evening, it stays cloudy, rather damp for england and wales, further pulses of rain running from west to east. further north, apart from a few showers around northern and western scotland, it'll be largely dry here with some clear spells. some temperatures in single digits across the north. compare that to tens and twelves across parts of england and wales, so we'll start off on a very mild note for england and wales sunday morning. a lot of cloud around. we'll have a weather front spreading northwards over the irish sea, affecting north wales first, then pushing into northern ireland, parts of northern england, then gradually across scotland as we head through the afternoon. it'll be slightly cooler and brighter to the north of it. to the south of it, double—figure values, very mild indeed for the time of year. could see 14 or 15 degrees, but there will be limited spells of sunshine. when we look to the west, this deep area of low pressure during sunday night skirts past the northwest of the uk, could bring a spell of gales, even severe gales to parts of western scotland. that will clear away, though, during monday morning, leaving a legacy of some fresher air across scotland and northern ireland. sunny spells, blustery showers for western scotland, wintry on the hills. england and wales will see a lot of cloud — a weather front trapped here, so some areas could be quite wet with persistent rain. but we will notice, despite the cloud and rain, temperatures of around 10—13 degrees. that weather front clears away for england and wales as we head on into tuesday. stays quite windy and wet for the north of the uk through tuesday and wednesday, but this area of high pressure will begin to build across the south. it'll settle things down. looks like it will influence the weather as we move towards the end of the week right across the uk, and you'll notice the milder colours sticking with us. so, temperatures will be above the seasonal norm for the upcoming week. an unsettled start, then it settles down with lighter winds. we could start to see a lot of cloud around, limited sunshine and overnight mist and fog. this is bbc news. the headlines: president biden has pledged federal aid after tornadoes devastated a string of us states, flattening whole towns and killing at least 70 people. amazon says it is "heartbroken" after six of its workers were killed when the roof of their warehouse collapsed when it was hit by a tornado in illinois. scientists are warning that the uk faces a substantial wave of 0micron infections next month that might overwhelm the national health service. the 0micron variant is thought to be spreading quickly, and health officials have renewed their call for everyone eligible to come forward for a covid boosterjab. the uk prime minister's office has acknowledged that borisjohnson briefly took part in a quiz in downing street a year ago, saying the event was to thank staff for their hard work during the pandemic. it was when london was in lockdown and no social gatherings were allowed. now on bbc news, it is time for the travel show