after the string of tornadoes in the united states that have killed almost 100 people. max verstappen is champion! lewis hamilton s mercedes team set to appeal over the race in which he lost the formula one title. you re not from here, are you? from this world? no. neither am i. and a dramatic increase why spending on tv drama production in british studios is twice what it was before the pandemic. and coming up on the bbc news channel, manchester united against paris saint germain, the highlight of the champions league last 16 draw. it will provide another chapter of ronaldo against messi in the spring. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the prime minister says at least one person has now died in the uk with the new omicron variant of coronavirus. the government says omicron is spreading at phenomenal speed. last night, borisjohnson ramped up the vaccination booster programme to combat the variant, offering the jab to all over 18s in england by the end o
places that rely on it? more than 90 people have died after devastating tornadoes swept through the mid west of america. horrendous scenes at the weekend and whilst our winds do not compare, it is a windy start to the week particularly northern scotland. wintle is lighter and with missed advocate become an issue. in sport, the farcical end to the fi season as versappen celebrates we reflect on the chaotic finish to the decider in the desert as hamilton misses out on a record eight title. it s monday, 13th december. every adult over the age of 18 in england is to be offered a third dose of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of this month in a major acceleration of the booster programme. the prime minister said the new target was necessary to combat a tidal wave of cases of the rapidly spreading omicron variant. but there are warnings this morning the booster roll out could have an impact on non covid nhs care. here s our political correspondent, chris mason. the countdown t
guilty in a deal that ends a ill year legal battle. he s now back in australia. cheering and applause he was pursued by us prosecutors for leaking vast amounts of classified government and military documents, including those related to the afghanistan and iraq wars. in a press conference after his release, his lawyer called the prosecution the criminalisation of journalism . so, did he pioneer a new form ofjournalism by setting up wikileaks, and has his case, by pleading guilty, set a dangerous precedent for reporters? i started by talking to carrie decell, who is a senior staff attorney at the knight first amendment institute at columbia university. i think this plea deal is significant in two respects. i mean, in the first instance, it must be an enormous relief, of course, forjulian assange and his family and his supporters around the world, as well as for press freedom advocates here in the united states who have been quite concerned about a judicial ruling that would e
and his family and his supporters around the world, as well as for press freedom advocates here in the united states who have been quite concerned about a judicial ruling that would endorse the us government s interpretation of the espionage act and its consistency with the first amendment. first amendment being the right to free speech, just to remind everybody. yes, that s exactly right. freedom of speech, freedom of the press and a handful of other freedoms as well. but those are the ones at issue here. on the other hand, this plea deal really does cast a long shadow over press freedom in the united states. it s not a formal precedent in the sense that a judicial ruling would have been, but it does, i think, set a practical precedent for the possibility of future prosecutions ofjournalists who engage in very similar activities to the activities thatjulian assange has pleaded guilty to. and by that, i m referring to the solicitation of information from sources, the actual r