just begun, let s get right to it. first coast guard district commander. brief recap of our coordinated search efforts for the 21-foot submersible with the five on board and update on current search efforts and plans for the next 24 hours. on behalf of all the men and women of the united states coast guard and our search partners, we offer our most heartfelt thoughts and prayers for the five crew members, their families and their loved ones. our crews are working around the clock to ensure we are doing everything possible to locate the titan and the five crew members. yesterday we set up a unified command consisting of expertise from the united states coast guard, united states navy, canadian armed forces and coast guard, and the titan s parent company, oceangate expedition. a complex search effort, requires multiple agencies with subject matters expertise and specialized equipment. the u.s. coast guard has assumed the role of mission coordinator, we do not have all the nec
that is expected to start any minute now. we ll bring you that as soon as it begins. plus, the polarizing plea deal for the president s son. republicans blasting the agreement that lets hunter biden avoid jail time as a slap on the wrist. but some legal experts suggest that if his last name wasn t biden, he might never have faced charges in the first place. and this deal was announced just about half an hour after we learned donald trump s court date. now less than eight weeks away. does judge aileen cannon s accelerated timeline suggest this trial could be over before the primaries even begin? but, we start with the extraordinary developments developing the current and former president on the same okay that donald trump s trial date is set, president biden s son hunter has reached a deal with federal prosecutors to avoid a trial and jail time. and we will get to that momentarily. but, first, let s take you to the coast guard briefing, the latest on the sub and the five p
arriving in north east scotland later. details throughout the programme. good morning. it s monday, the 20th of november. our main story. it s the start of a big week for the covid inquiry, which will hear evidence from the high profile doctors and scientists who helped to shape and explain the government s response to the pandemic. the former chief scientific adviser, sir patrick vallance, whose diaries from that time accused boris johnson of chaotic leadership, will appear today, followed by professor sir chris whitty, jonathan van tam and damejenny harries over the coming days. our health reporter jim reed reports. patrick, over to you. thank you very much. numbers are increasing and they re increasing across europe and in the uk. sir patrick vallance was up there at the downing street podium in some of the darkest days of the pandemic. we re also recommending increased social distancing. that s the phrase that you hear. already the inquiry has heard extracts from his priv