Hello and welcome to bbc news. Its great to have your company. The uk government has defended its decision to hold off on introducing new Coronavirus Restrictions in england before the new year, saying it will monitor the situation closely in the meantime. There are restrictions on socialising in the other nations that form the uk wales, scotland and Northern Ireland. The latest data shows that there have again been record numbers of cases across the country. Elsewhere in europe, france has also seen record highs in its cases, and the country has announced tighter restrictions to try and get the spike in numbers caused by the omicron variant under control. And there have been demonstrations in Eastern Germany against new restrictions. First, lets get more on the situation here in the uk from our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. The latest uk government covid data now. A Vaccination Centre in lambeth in london, among the boroughs worst affected by omicron in the uk. Staff here s
Welcome to cnn tonight. With omicron spreading far and wide and not nearly enough testing to meet the massive demand, a new report from vanity fair suggests the Biden Administration missed an opportunity to ramp up testing before the holidays, characterized by the magazine a blueprint for how to avoid what is happening at this moment, a scramble nationwide to get a covid test, endless lines, hours waiting so people can celebrate safely with others. But is that what really happened . The white house says they didnt dismiss anything. Were about to talk to a doctor who attended the white house meeting where that very proposal was made on october 22nd. Vanity fair says it goss hold of the tenpage plan that included a Testing Surge to prevent Holiday Covid surge. The idea was to push the administration to get out rapid Home Covid Testing To Americans so that they could screen themselves and reduce transmission before the holidays. The proposal purportedly called for an estimated 732 million
American life and became a cultural icon. She died from parkinsons disease in new york, her publisher says. She was a pioneer at the time what was known as new journalism. Her numerous bestselling books included Slouching Toward Bethlehem and the year of magical thinking, following the death of her husband, writer john gregory dunne. She wrote, when we mourn our losses, we mourn for better or worse ourselves, as we were, as we are no longer, as we will one day not be at all. She was 87. The news continues. Lets hand it over to Michael Smerconish and cnn tonight. John, thank you. I am Michael Smerconish. Welcome to cnn tonight. On this eve of Christmas Eve with omicron spreading far and wide and not nearly enough testing to meet the massive demand, a new report from vanity fair suggests the Biden Administration dismissed a bold plan months ago to ramp up testing ahead of the holidays. Characterized by the magazine a blueprint for how to avoid what is happening at this moment, a scramble
Moments ago, right here on new day. Part of the president s program which he will be speaking about this afternoon is to dramatically increase the availability of testing, putting up about 20,000 Testing Sites, were getting half a billion tests very quickly, literally within the next few days. And then have a situation where you can get anywhere from 200 million to half a billion tests per month. So we will be able to very soon have all the tests that people need. President biden will also say in his speech that Vaccinated Americans dont need to cancel their Holiday Plans, despite the rise in case counts. Cnns Jeremy Diamond is live at the white house this morning with more for us. Good morning. Good morning, erica. President biden will deliver a stark warning once again to unVaccinated Americans today, warning them of the potential serious illnesses that they could face amid this Omicron Surge. He will also seek to reassure those Vaccinated Americans, particularly those who have recei
Hes also making them pay for the privilege. David cay johnston piece good evening. Im mehdi, its been a banner year for the enemies of democracy. And their winning Streak Continues tonight. In 12 short months, the Great American experiment has taken a physical, pounding. It doesnt get more physical than weapons and fisticuffs in the halls of the United States capitol. While the American Flag took a literal beating out front, small d democracy also took an ideological beating from conservative Media Outlets and the mouthpieces who appeared on them. Who delivered a slow, deliberately drip, drip, drip of propaganda, as of january six were a mere blip that if it did happen, was the work of antifa or angry tours. Democracy also suffered illegal lashing to, from texas, to florida, to georgia, to 19 states and counting so far that have signed off on at least 33 measures designed to make it harder for americans to vote. That includes the state of arizona. Were in the spring, gop governor doug