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the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the u.s. president-elect joe biden criticizes vaccine rollout there, less than 100 million jobs in his -- pledging 100 million jabsn his first 90 days. >> it will take times for our cort response plan to have visible results. >> cases up by more than 53,000 in a single day.

>> if the virus is allowed to continue to transmute an increase, particularly with the new strainf o virus, there could be catastrophic consequences. >> croatia is hit by strongest earthquake in decades. the latest report suggest 70 people have died. antiabortion protesters rch in argentina as ascendant senate prepares to hold a historic vote . >> pierrcardin takes the town by storm. >> and tributes to one oft he biggnames in fashion design. pierre cardin has died at the age of 98. ♪ >> hello and welcome.

the u.s. president-elect joes biden en outlining u.s. efforts to combat t coronavirus pandemic under his forthcoming presidency. mr. biden criticized the president for what he described as a slowollout of the vaccination program. the president elect once again pledged to deliver 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office. >> i will move heaven and earth to get us going in the right direction. i will use my power under the defense production act when i'm sworn i an order private industry to accelerate maki the materia needed for the vaccines as well as protective gear. vice president harris and have been speaking to countys officials, mayd governors of both parties to speed up the diribution of the vaccine across the nation. >>re he mentioned vicedent

elect kamala harris. she received her injection on live television. edshe and her husband recehe vaccine after oth high-profile profile figures like joe biden himself and dr. anthony fauci also received the jab. it's an effort to boost public confidence in t drug. on capitol hill, the leader of the republicans in the senate, mitch mcconnell, appears to have blocked a measure to increase payments to icans reeling from the pandemic. congress has already passed 900 billion dollars relief package just signed into law by president h trump, bwas reluctant to do that because the bill only gave lower perd ans $600 each, and mr. trump said he wanted the handout to be $2000. this caused a rare alliance witt demoin washington. the house voted to raise the payout figure on monday, but mitch mcconnell, the republican senate leader, has prevented debate on the measure.

a republican strategist an chairman of the travisanounty republarty in texas joins me now. thanks for being with us on bbc news. what do you make of this? politics sometimes makes strange bedfellows. if you look back at the first term or only term of president trump, he has not been aligned wiocrats very often against republicans, but on this issue heli is generallyed with republicans. which mcconnell understands that to give demo something they were demanding, he wanted to get something in return. it's not that he will prevented from ever happening, what he wants a liability shield for businesses perhaps repeal of section 230 which gives immunity to the tech platforms from being sued. one of those two things is the

likely trade-off that he i going to require to pass this through the senate. you are seeing some senate republicans including marco rubio from florida and others joining the president trump and the democrats to say that these payments neeto happen. it's known questionth w mitch mcconnell can get atither ad to it. >> can the higher payout be passed anyway in the senat with democrats and republicans coming together, despite the republican leader? >> the senate generally takes 60 i think it is 52 at the moment. we will see how the georgia noffs go. you have a handful of days that remain. they want to override the esident's veto and the national defense authorization t, and they've got the government funding and stimulus

bill passed which the president reluctantly signed into law. can the minority leader in the senate, chucschumer, force a vote? it depends entirely on timing and procedure. he probably could do it, but en they have very limite time, i think it's going to be difficult. one senator can block a lot of ings. it could just be an average bernie sandershe will filibuster a veto overriding an up or down vote on the $20 payment. they will have to get agreement from 100 senator >> we been talking about the georgia senate races and the fact that on that depends mitch mcconnell's continuing power in the senate. just a brief answer on whether you think he will retain that leadership in the senate after next week or not. >> the only way the democrats

can take contr is by winning both georgia seats. ce president kamala harr would break the tie. >> of got to leave it there. -- i have got to leave it there. thanks, and we willatch that next tuesday very carefully. the u.s. has recorded his firs case of the new variant of coronavirus first identified here in the u.k. the governor of colorado tweeted it was discovered andonaying we willor it very closely. it has also been recorded in canada, australia,apan, as well as other european countries. risen steeply to a record.of

one senior medal officer has expressed extreme concern on the situation. the official data puts the figure at 53,135 new cases in the latest 24 hours and 414 dehs were reported. this report includes flash photograph reporter we all wanted to have a few days off for christmas, but instead have been asked to come back to work. >> this time we've seen a massive increa >> we are close to becoming overwhelmed. so it is affecting anyone and everne. >> people are just beginning to be exhausted. it has been such a long year reporter: doctors and nurses from the -- nurses from the nhs one tell us that after months and months of hard work, it is tting worse. queens hospital, 20 ambulances waiting outside.

some on double yellow lines because the parking were all full. bringing hostaff drinks out to patients waiting in the ambulances.sp the al says they were being cared for safely, but that cc is uer considerable pressure and isting -- asking staff to take extra shifts pressure is intense across london and the southeast. ou>> i say it is the most challenging extended period that i ve er t -- ever seen. i like to take an opportunityo pay tribute to the staff. reporter: more than 21,000 people are being treated in hospital for covert across the u.k.. the highest level of patients now. ot>> af them are desperately unwell. we see a reareflection of that in the amount of patients reporter: that have died. reporter:in northern ireland,

hospital say they are under pressure, but coping. in scotland, people are being asked to stay at home over new year's, as cases hit a record high. the new surge in cases could not come at a worse time for the winter always brings morelips, trs, and falls in icy weather. this year, on top of that, add to the pandemic social distancing and the nhs of england is operating with around 10% fewer beds than usual. in england, 24 million people are already living und tier four restrictions, the highest level. the government is abtht to decide i is enough. this warning from a scientific advisor, act now to avoid catastrophe in the new year. >> in my view, if we don't introduce tougher restrictions in areas in the nth and areas currently in here for, they will rise to very high levels of the

disease. >> the nhs sent the annual thank this year has been the toughest that most can remember, but there is hope, too. >> we think that with vaccine supply continuing to come on ave been ablill to offer all people across the cccountry the ation. reporter: three weeks ago, margaret keenan became the first person to have a covid vaccine outside clinical trials. today she has had her second booster dose. >>'look at some more development on the coronavirus story around the world. in germany, the health authorities approved a new rapid coronavirus test that can give results within 40 minutes. the company behind it says it is based on highly reliable technology. spain said it will set up a registry of people who have

refuse to be vaccinated against the virus. the list will be shared with othe e.u. nations, though it will not be made public. russia's prime minister has revealed that or than 80% of deaths this year are linked to covid-19. official figures say 55,827 people he died of covid-19 in russia. local media in croatia a reportinthat the earthquake there has killed seven people. seismologists say the tremor of magnitude 6.4 had its epicenter about 50 kilometers from the capital, the grab. -- za reporter: a man is reued from a crushed car and reunited with his child, who had already been pulled free. it was a little after midday

when the 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit. the strongest in i croatia decades. force.n took the full half of its buildings have been to theed, according mayor who was talking to a 12-year-old girl died. struck. these women were able to walk away from the collapsed town hall. otrs removed to safety however th could be. rescuers from all across croatia searched angst the rubble for survivors. this man sai i don't have anything left. everything crumbled. in a nearbyor city, the m was holding a news conference when the tremors started. the main hospital here was badly damaged. it was also felt hundreds of miles away near the slovenia

parliament building. the town ofri pa was almost destroye aduring brutal civil war in the 10's. the earthquake has brought devastation once again. >> here in the u.k., lawma trs appear rea back the compromise >> it deal. skeptical of ties with europe, some have indicated they will support the agreement on wednesday. pothe tion leader who oppose brexit is trying to persuade all ors labor mps to vote in f on the grounds that a slim deal here's our politicalal. correspondent, jessica parker. jessica: boris johnson is likely to get his trade deal through parliaornt tw. things a looking a bit more complicated for the labour party.

describing the agreement as thin, but saying it is better than a no deal out, he doesn't think labor should be sitting on the sidenes by abstainin at least a handful of mps look set to defy him. some argue the deal is going to pass anyway and say they should not put their names tune agreement they think is bad for e country. the deal does look set to race througham part as parliament is recalled here tomorrow. the u.k. did leave the back in january, but in today's time, it actually it strikes itself from the european union. on issues of trade and immigration, that's where the relationship fundamentally changes. that's when we ben to find out what brexit really means. >> to argentina the senate is a debatiill legalizing abortion despite objections from the roman catholic church. the bill w would allen to in pregnancies after the 40th week. if it does pass, it's expected

to do so by only a slim majority. activists on both sides have been holding rallies today. twogo years a similar bill was approved by the lower house but it was narrowly rejected by the more conservative senate. esour is in oneness eras and i asked how she was feeling -- she is in burnoduenos aires >i'a day of joy here. >> what has the effect of the band been for women with unwanted pregnancies? >> what happens is that when the senate in 2018 rejected theil that year 35 women died from abortion relatedauses.

what happens is that as we don't have officialic stati because we don't have a law, what we have is 40,000 women have been committed into hospitals related to dangerous and unsafe abortion complications. >> this is an issue that everybody is watching in argentina. tell me about what it was when the bill went through the lower house. >> i awas great day. we were all on the streets, and there were many people with all the safe care and because we are great.spandemic, but we are hopeful that this timevo the senate wil in favor, because we don't want to be disappointed.

>>et there are many conservative voices in the senate who say they oppose this, and they speak for the maral majority intina. >> what we have our country and in the senate, yes, i want to say the majority or a high percentage of legislators with conservative thoughts and rspectives, and the arguments against women's rights andeg nt people's rights are more or less moral or religious. so we hope this year will be the time to rejected again. >> i think this is the ninth time that a bill to legalize abortion has been presend to congress. so you are used to this fight. if you win this time, do you think it will have an impact sewhere in south america?

>> yes, of course, and we are hopeful that will happen. latin america, there are only a very few countries that have legal abortion. most of themre restricted or have restrictions or they a prohibited. so we hope this will be a nice example for america and the other countries. >> do you ink this particular issue has energized women politically in a broader sense as well? >> yes, of course. feminist movement here i argentina is historical. the fight to choose and the abortion fight is a particular one because it meanshawomen and pregnant people can choose our lives andur own health. so it is really important. >> we will be following that

vote in argentina over the next few hours. the legendary french fashion designer pierre cardin has died at the age of 98. he was hailed for his visionary creations, but also for being a r of stylish, ready to wear clothes for middle classes. during his seven deces in gefashion, he brought ometric shapes to haute couture and licensing his name to ng wide of products. let's give you a flavor of the film. [speaking foreign language] a little bit of a sello.

>> a legen >> that was a glimpse of the houscoof cardin. thle behind the film tell me how they came to make it. >> we always say it was divine providence. we didn't know he was a real person, we just collected his furniture. he had a record label. we were just avid collectors. we discovered he was a real person and he was alive, and we met him. not with the intention of makin aocumentary, just really to get a picture. >> we are documentaryke film, so when we met him, w the assumpti we were approaching about a documentary. after we left are very few -- our very fst meeting with him,

we basically said when can we get started?wh do you want to do? ipi guess a documentary ore cardin. >> i love the idea that you knew him from his creations, and then you go to paris and bump into him. how do you say, i would like to get to know you? >> we didn't even have to say that. just sort of entered the conversation running and just started talking about what it could mean and that we wanted to make it in 3d, which he loved. and then we got to know him, and the more time that we spent with him, we were able to become >> i can see you are we can just see a glimpse ofd. your palm rings home behind you. clean lines, beautiful geometry.

i can see what would appeal tove you,in the clothes you are wearing. kind of a space-age obsession, he led the way. there is a lot wer take granted, but he kind of had the vision first. >> he was extremely positive. we think about the future today, we think about dystopia, the walking dead. the visions of the future where everything is lling apart. pierre cardin saw the future positivity.redible amount >> and internationalism in bringing all cultures and people together. >> what you say really strikes me, because here i am reporting, and we are all thinking about pandemic and difficulties in

medical devastation, and you are talking about someone who tried to make horizons wider andbr hter. >> so true. and through, colrough design, to try to improve the world and improve life. we get asked about mr. cardin, and the thing is, the is always an idea underneath what -- what he did. his idea was that self-expression should be for everybod, that beauty was something we can all participate in. that kind of positivity brings good things to your life. when you watch the film and fill especially proud that you get to see and know mr. cardin and b inspired by him. he is really quite a man. >> we really thought we would be

at his 100th birthday party. >> there is a lovely page on the bbc website, pierre cardin's life in fashion in pictures. you scroll through that, and i t realextraordinary. you can always talk to me on thanks for being with us on bbc news. ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... language specialists teaching spanish, french and more. raymond james. the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundati pursuing solutions for america's neected needs. and by contributions to this pbs stion from viewers like you. thank you.

nat the height of the conflict. into vietnam he became a single parent of two young children. we moved a lot. we slept in rest areas. we slept in our car. i didn't reali h that we were aceless. it makes your world really small. iif we happened to stay in ae acelesmotel that happened to have a tv, it s really special. we loved nova. especially when it would be about space. we would talk for hours about watching nova, i felt big, like, my minwas big, my ideas were big. the trajectory of my life changed. i could see a world outside of our poverty and i felt like things were going to get better. ♪ pbs opened up a world i didn't know existed.

captioning s sponsored by newshour productions, llc e >> nawaz: goning, i'm amna nawaz. judy woodruff is off. on the newshour tonight, the pandemic marches on: covid-19 deaths top 337,000 as a new strain is confirmed in the u.s. t talk with president-elect biden's pilead the c.d.c. of representatives overridesouse president trump's veto of a defense spendingill as the fight over covid relief payments moves to the senate. an a hidden crisis-- with hospitals overrun with pandemic patients, many americans areng delamportant medical care, often with devastating consequences. >> while it's very important to take necessary precautions for avoiding exposur'sto covid-19, lso important to get your timely medical care. >> nawaz: all that and more on toght's pbs newshour.