Nada this is bbc world news america. Setting out thacroadmap for hment. Each side will get 24 hours to make their case for e dispute over new evidence andss wit remains unresolved. Nobody, nobody will dictate Senate Procedure to the United States senators. Is mcconnell the mcconnell rules seem to be designed by President Trump, for President Trump. Nada for his part b president was far away from the fray,ng addressi Environmental Issues at the World Economic forum in davos. He lashed out. We musreject the polenta perennial prophets of doom and their predictions of the apalypse. Nada plus, the u. S. Repts the first case of the coronovirus. The number of those effected in china continues climb. For those watching on pbs and around the globe, welcome to world news america. A befo battle, the rules of engagement must be welles blished to ensure fair play. That is what democrats and Donald Trumps defense team havi been a about on the floor of the u. S. Senate today. The yeas are 53, the nayare the amendment is tabled. Nada a short time ago, senators voted along party lines to block a motiowe that would have al additional white house documents to be released. That was the first attempt by democrats to introduce new evidence or witnesses. It failed, but others are set to follow. Earlier, Senate Majority leader aiMitch Mcconnell out the terms whereby both sides would get 24 hours to make their caye over three each. Democrats hit back, sayingt makes little sense to move forward with the trial before deciding whether to call new witnesses. Our north american editor starts our coverage. Here ye, here you. All persons are committed to ke silent. John 1868, 1999, and now 2020. For only the third time in american history, the sergeant at arms tells senators on pn of imprisonment that they must maintain silence and decorum int the trial of ang president , the 45th, donald j. Trump. The senate will convene ea a court of iment. John presiding over it, the chief justice the supreme court, john roberts. For all the veneer of this being a dicial process, this is really broad politics. Was pat cipollone, the senior white House Counsel acting as the dense. Those initial presentations, the only conclusion will be that the nothing wrong. Done absolutely and that tse articles of impeachment do not begin to approach the standard required. John essential argument is whether witnesses should be allowed. Republicans nt the trial to be done and dusted in a little over a week, would no one called to give evidence. The chief prosecutor is adam schiff,em theratic chair of the house intelligence committee. He says that would be a travesty. If the defendant is not allowed to introduce evidence of his innocence it is not a fair so too for the prosecution. If the house cannot call witnesses, produce documents or evidence, it is not a fair trial. It is not really a trial at all. John donald trump may be in the mountains with the global elite but he is watching washington. It is a hoax. It goes nowhere because nothing happened. Wthe only thihave done is a great job. We have the strongest country in the world by far. We are going in the wrong direction. We have the greatest economy we have ever had. John theon trial will gor at least a week with each side given three days to present their case. There will be questioning. All of this will be conducted with the strichast rules of or. It is playing outnews networks, here, it is mixed martial arts, with smingly no rules. This fight for Public Opinion is trump eyes reelection later on this year. Nada for more on the legal wranglings takinglace here in washington and what comes next, i am joined by jonathan turley, professor at George WashingtonUniversity Law school who testified before congress on some of these issues in december. Thank you s much for being with us. A lot of comparisons have been made to the clinton impeachment n,ich you took part but we saw today dominated by procedure, whereas in 1998, 100 senators voted unanimously on the rules. So what does the constitution actually lay out about the procedure . Jonaan the constitution does not actually state how you try an american president. T simply states the vote you need to remove h the problem is there is not a bipartisan atmosphere that existed in the clinton trial, where largely these rules were worked out. In fairness to the republicans, the house process was equally partisan and as much as a muscle play as this is pretty proving to be. Also the members are changing their positions. Chuck schumer today, the democratic leader in the senate, really castigated his colleagues for not wanting to hear from witnesses. But back in the clinton trial, he posed all witnesses and wanted a summary vote to avoid a full trial. Nada to that point about witnesses, because you have been very vocal about saying this impeachment was based on a thi for this to be a fair trial, dod you think thocrats should win on this demand for more witnesses . Jonathan i certainly think there should be witnesses, but the democrats really created a historic blunder in this case by pushing this vote by christmas instead ofus waiting for a couple of months to complete their record. Once theyed vthey handed this case over not just to the, the opposing, opposing party. And not surprisingly Mitch Mcconnell is not eager to help them fill in those gap. Nada what about theacof john bolton being willing to testify . Could his testimony ultimately completely change the direction of this impeachment . Jonathan it could. Witnesses are unpredictable things. They would not only throw into question the schedul but you do not know who is going to be hit by this torpedo in the water. Bolton indicated he was willing to testify in the house. He repeated that he would be willing to testify in the senate. Just that no one knows quite sure what his testimony would be. He is quoted by other witnesses as calling the ukraine controversy a drug deal, being that certainly doesnt look like he is a positive witness for the white house. Nada briefly, i would like your take on the president s defense, that the white house cannot impeach a president without a crime. Jonathan im afraid i think it is wrong. I testified in both the linden and trump impeachment hearings, ieand testagainst that view. There has never beeal a lit meeting to high crimes and misdemeanors. It has never been cfined to a criminal code. It would be a dangerous precedent to set for the senate to embrace that theory now. Nada rossor turley, always great to get your opinion. Thank you so much. Lets take a look now at the poli proceedings with cassiemedley, the Deputy Communications director athe Republican National committee and she joined me earlier. Ymy first question to is if you are concerned abo this trial occluding the president , what is the harm that would happen with witnesses . Cassie we know that both voters ande senators and esident want and deserve a fair trial in the senate, which is something we did not see in the house. T the American People have been subjected to these political antics for more than three years now. Democrats have been saying that this was theire intent si President Trumps inauguration day, whi t tee Year Anniversary was yesterday. We want a fairrocess, but in less than two weeks the American People had to the polls in iowa to deter 2020 election, and this Democrat Congress is still trying to overturn elecon. Lts of the 2016 that is not fair and the American People are tired of it. Nada because you are bringing up the American People, there were t different polls taken showing the majority of americans actually do support more evidence and more witnesses in the trial. So, are you afraid that this could hurt some of your moderate republicans who also think there should possibly be witsses . Cassie when you look into those pos, when you break them down to the battleground states and not just take the nation as one gigantic picture, which often many pollso, d the battleground states paint a different picture. Either the inverse effect or neck and neck. Whatn e do see is w look at our data of what are the going to vote on next november, impeachment is not in the mop five and iy states not the top 10. And National Security alwaysy among the top three. Why i mentionhat is because why there has been this pushed by democrats for three years now to want to impeach a duly elected president of the ited states, in the time since they started the impeachment in the house, president tmp has taken out the most dangerous terrorist in the world, and our stock market hit another record high. Thosehe aressues that are driving voters at the forefront of their concerns. It will be a problem for democrats that when they talk to their constituents they have to tell them they have not been focused on the issues that are a priority of the voters. Nada on principle, you have the former National Security advisor john bolton saying he is willing to testify that he has new evidence tt has not been heard before. So why shouldnt john bolton be heard from . Cassie i go back to professor turleys comment cement ago, the democrats had an opportunity to make that happen but they were so intent on rushing this quote, urgent process before they sat on it for 30 days thatkehey did not he time to go through the courts to get those and witness approved. They had a chance to do it. Now to go to the senate and try to get Mitch Mcconnell to say now we need you to do what we were not willing to do, not a strong case for them to make in the senate and certainly isot is not ting with the American People. Nada that was Cassie Smedley speaking with me earlier. Four of the senators are also candidates to take his job. They havee had to lee campaign trail to attend the proceedings. One of thosis Michael Bennet of colorado. He says it is his constitutional k responsibility to come br the trial and he hopes something will be achievedtr, even if mr. P is acquitted. He was speaking to the bbc during a Campaign Stop in new hampshire. Reporter you have to go back to washington for the Senate Impeachment trial. Is that going to give joe biden an unfair advantage . Because he does not have to stop campaigning. I do not think of it as unfair, because there is nothing i can do about it. I have a constitutional responsibility to fulfill. Butoi have beeew hampshire more than any other candidate for president. m in the midi of a 50 town hall swing after i have already done 33 townhomes. So i am spending the time that i ve to spend here and i will do that around the impeachment triaas well. Reporter but when you talk to people on the campaignrail, do they really care about the impeachment . There are so many other things that concern them. Reporter people are mixed cite. Ople are mixed, i would what they really care about is ey are working really hard and cannot get themselves into a middleclass life. They feel they cant afford housing, health care, education. On the other hand, there are allowed there are a lot of people, and i am one of tm, who feel this president has violated the standard of conduct about this. To have an inquiry if we do not under these sorts of circumstances, then what would this president do with the rest of his term, or what would a subsequent president do . I think that is somethi on peopleminds as well. Reporter what will it have achieved if, as exp ated, the senauits him . I hope it will have achieved a reassertion of what our standard is for our elected leadership. Not st President Trump, but people in my job as well. Pa of the problem that we have got in this country is we have gotten to a point where we kind ofxpect politicians to come home and explained they did not achieve a other sides fault. He or in the case of President Trump, you have someone who gets up inhe morning and tells lies more easily than he tells the truth. I want to live in a countrye. Where if we talkbout virtues like honesty and integrity and fair dealing and patriotism, that i can point to a photograph president and i can point to him or her and say to my daughters, we will have the opportunity to do that, even i as expected, the republican majority will acquit the persident. Repo thank you very much for joining me. Thank you for having me. Nada q time now forck look at some other news. Former u. S. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton has launched a scathing attack on president ial hopeful and01 democratic rival bernie sanders. She told a docnoentary that body likes them. Clinton refused to say whether she would dorse sanders if he becomes the democrats choice to take on President Trump in november. The leftwing senar from vermont described her remarks as baloney. Boeing says it does not expect it 737 max plan to rs urn to the skfore the summer. The jet has been grounded since march after two crashes which killed 346 people together. Boeing said it is working on a Software Update and tended to fix the problem. The rock store rockstar Ozzy Osbourne has revealed he has parkinns disease. He oneyearold singer says he has a mild fo and found out about it after suffering a fall last february. Youre watching bbc world news america. Still to come tonight, taking her messe to davos. Climate change activist greta the room at the World Economic forum, as President Trump hits out at activists like her. The wildfires that have swept for weeks to coastal regions of australia have left devastation in their wake. They have destroyedhousands of homes and killed nearly half a million animals. And even though many fires are still burning in some part of the country, there are a few signs of hope rising from the ashes. Correspondent in southwells. In this silent bleakness, iis hard to find comfort. But look closer. New hope. New color. New giddings. Beginnings. These brutal fires may have scorched so much the brush in this vast country, but already there is life once more. A month ago this is what confronting confronted them. They watched as the flames raced across their land. The fire came over the top of this rich, and then jumped over the gully and roared up the side. Reporter much of the thick visitation was inciner vegetation was incinerated. But now. After a bit of mosher and ring moisture and rain. It is incredible. Reporter they have been looking for signs of recovery. This is a place that has been stripped bare, but not destroyed. These trees actually need the fire to regenerate. The seed pods here open with the heat. So is a good thing the fire goes through. Yes, we will use this as a restart and try to find a place better for the wildlife and for reporter we are seeing signs of new life all across fire scorched australia. Fflickers o hope after these darkest of months. The thousands of people who are now trying to rebuild their own lives. Nada u. S. Health officials have announced the first case of ronovirus in the United States. At a press conference, washington states governor said a u. S. Resident contracted the disease while on the a trip to the chinese city of wuhan. T e patient is now in satisfactory condition. Until now the vast majority of infections have been in china, a can pass from perspersons say have died. Ed 30 overall and six Steven Mcdonnell has more from beijing. Stephen the number of those affected has with every jp, people are king this crisis more seriously. Days ago many Lunar New Year situation. Emed blase about the now the mood is different. Of course i am worried that the virus may all of a sudden spread further. If cross infection happens during the spring t period, the epidemic will be terrible. My hometown is close to the place where the virus broke out. Of course i am worried. I just went to buy masks, but when i tried they were all sold out. Steven in wuhan, where the outbreak started, Scientists Say anyone with a High Temperature should not leave. Authorities have ordered local tour groups to cancel their trips. Becars driving away arg syrup stopped for random searches. The Chinese Government is saying everything is under control. We believe that under the strong leadership of the Party Central committee, threnew virus ou in wuhan will be brought under control. Steven but the outbreak res already spad well beyond central china. In vietnam, japan, and south korea, the health of incoming passengers is being c. In australia, a special screening is in por flights coming in from wuhan. Oneal passenger, ady isolated. Over the coming weeks,he spring festival means that hundreds of millions of people will return to their home towns or head overas. And medical teamsre clearly worried about the transmission of this deadly virus. Scientists here have joined those in the u. K. Saying that although there are hundreds of people who have beennfted, they think it could be thousands. That is because look how many people are traveling around china at the moment. The virus has not only spread to other chinese cities, but to other countries. And that is why the authorities are not taking any cnces and they have put all these extra screening measures in place. Many people here do believe it when Officials Say they know how to manage this emergency. What worrieshem is what the authorities do not know about this virus. Nada lets return now to our top story, but look at it from anotheangle. Today the impeachment trial started for donald trump, but the president himself wasn ocean away attending the World Economic forum in davos, switzerland, the annual gathering of influential business and political leaders. This year it is focusing on climate change. Enage activist Greta Thunberg gave a hardhitting speech while the american presideot took some shof his own. James robbins has more. James donald has flown over 4000 miles from washington to the Alpine Heights of davos, hoping to look more like a president on the world stage, less like a defendant back home. S he ieading carefully on all the ice and snow. Any fall here would look terrible. Will this gathering of theororld economic 5000 feet up in switzerland give an embattled president the high ground he craves . Even without impeachment, he is way out of step with the main goal of this meeting, to do much erature tackle level te rise but to embrace the possibilities of tomorrow, we must reject the perennial prophets of doom and their predictions of the acalypse. They are the heirs of yesterdays foolish fortunetellers, and i have them and you have them, and we all have them. They want to see us do badly but we do not let that happen. James being here todain switzerland and not in washington, the president may feel he is among friends, surrn nded by more t0 fellow billionaires. In truth, he is in a much more vulnerable and uncomfortable position than any of them. I am a very big believer in the environment. Ght now we are doing the cleanest water, the cleanest air, and that is what we have right now. James so who are theors biggest polluters . The u. S. Is the second largest producer of co2, accounting for nearly 15 of global emissions. But china is responsible for almost double that. The next biggest emitters of Carbon Dioxide andia, russia, and japan, which produce another 15 between them. 1britain accounts for 1of the total. One of dald trumps fiercest critics is also here in davos. Gra thunberg, swedish teenage climate everyone to account on behalf of her generation, accusing governments worldwide of empty promises. The fact that the usa is leaving the paris accord seemed toveutrage and worryone. And it should. The fact that we are al about to fail the commitments you signed up for in the Paris Agreement does not seem to bother the people in power even the least. James President Trump wille using thest of his time in data loss to focus on onetoonn me with other world leaders. You will be discussing everything from trade disputes to the huge tensions in the middle east. But the long shadow of events in washington still seems to reach he. To switzerla james robbins, bbc news. Nada remember, you can find more on all the days news plus the impeachment trial on our website. And to see what we are working on anytime, check us out on twitter. I am nada tawfik. Thank you for wching world news america. Narrator funding for this presentation is made possible by. Babbel, an Online Program designed by language specialists teaching spanish, french and more. Narrator funding was also provided by. The freeman foundation. By judy and peter blumkovler foundation. Pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs. And by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you, thank you. Narrator be more, pbs. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc judy woodruff. Ood evening, im on the newshour tonight. The most important question is the question you must answer today. Will the president , and the American People, get a fair trial . Trial of President Trump. Chment abuse of power and obstruction of congress. The senate opens the next phasef ts historic session. We break down the days highlights. P shington. Away from president trumrives in davos, switzerland, touting the s. Economy a denying the risks of the climate crisis. Plus, amid a humitariane, catastro fragile life for those who survive. Heartbreak and hope in northern syria. translated in my village i used to play with my friends at school