this is bbc news, i'm rich preston with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. historic blizzards in the united states as a fierce winter storm with high winds and heavy snowfall hits the east coast. stay inside and hunker down is the advice from this meteorologist attempting to measure the situation on the coast. downing street is considering sending more british troops and military hardware to eastern europe, as nato weighs up options to increase pressure on russia. the medical trial which is throwing new light on why some people experience breathlessness after covid.

ash barty wins the australian open tennis to become first home winner in 44 years. and, reports that one of the biggest stars in world sport, quarterback tom brady is to retire from the nfl after 22 seasons and seven super bowl titles. hello and welcome to the programme. america's east coast is being battered by the first major blizzard it the region in four years. experts warn of historic snowfall in some places and flood warnings have been issued near the coast. tens of thousands of power outages have been reported and more than 6,000 flights have been cancelled. here's our north america correspondent, peter bowes.

a blanket of snow covers times square in new york city, the streets largely deserted as most people hunkered down at home. this has been a colossal storm, a warm cyclone as it is known as not be a combination of heavy snow and strong winds approaching the strength of a hurricane. this winter wonderland in the heart of new york city is fun for some, but heading out for a selfie moment is not advised by the authorities. the blizzard conditions can be extremely dangerous. the snow scapes in new york are repeated across great swathes of the eastern united states. boston airport and massachusetts is under a thick layer. across the region, around 6000 weekend flights have been cancelled. in many neighbourhoods, snowploughs and salt spreaders have been working for hours to try to clear the roads. many homes are without power. we clear the roads. many homes are without power.— without power. we get the prevailing _ without power. we get the prevailing north-east - without power. we get the | prevailing north-east wind. without power. we get the i prevailing north-east wind. it prevailing north—east wind. it really impact the coastal

areas. they get that strong wind that comes off the ocean so in addition to having to deal with borderline historic amounts of snow, you get the winds that just amounts of snow, you get the winds thatjust push all of that water onshore. along the coast, battered _ that water onshore. along the coast, battered by _ that water onshore. along the coast, battered by strong - coast, battered by strong winds, flood warnings have been issued as the storm moves northwards. with frigid, potentially life—threatening temperatures overnight, officials are urging people to stay indoors until the storm passes. stay indoors until the storm asses. , , . stay indoors until the storm asses. ,, . , passes. this is what is the dangerousness _ passes. this is what is the dangerousness we - passes. this is what is the dangerousness we are - passes. this is what is the . dangerousness we are talking about, temperatures in the single digits tonight and into tomorrow morning, and this is when frostbite kicks in. look at how serious that can be. so we are trying to take this very seriously. we are trying to take this very seriously-— seriously. the worst of the snowfall — seriously. the worst of the snowfall is _ seriously. the worst of the snowfall is almost - seriously. the worst of the snowfall is almost over - seriously. the worst of the | snowfall is almost over but seriously. the worst of the - snowfall is almost over but the dangers posed by the extreme conditions will linger with a huge cleanup operation likely to last several days. one of the areas worst affected by the storm is cape cod in massachusetts, where some meteorologists have been

to measure the weather. inaudible that was the situation _ inaudible that was the situation on _ inaudible that was the situation on the - inaudible that was the situation on the coast i inaudible that was the | situation on the coast on inaudible that was the - situation on the coast on cape cod earlier, with that whether what are being knocked over by the conditions. i'm joined now byjack sillin, another weather watcher from cornell university who travelled to cape cod to measure the full force of the storm. very good to have you with us. how cold is it where you are right now?— how cold is it where you are riaht now? . . ., right now? thanks so much for havin: right now? thanks so much for having me. — right now? thanks so much for having me, it's— right now? thanks so much for having me, it's about - right now? thanks so much for having me, it's about for - right now? thanks so much for having me, it's about for 10 . having me, it's about for 10 degrees here in massachusetts. that's not how we started the day though, we started with a temperature around 32, we had the wet, heavy snow that stuck to the trees and power lines, thatis to the trees and power lines, that is why you are seeing so many power outages across cape cod where places like boston or wister which may have gotten more snow don't necessarily have the power impact but now it is cold, the snow is fluffy

so it's just blowing around, hopefully we can get the power grid back up and running fairly soon. t5 grid back up and running fairly soon. ' �* , grid back up and running fairly soon.’ 2 ., , soon. 15 it's about minus nine celsius for— soon. 15 it's about minus nine celsius for those _ soon. 15 it's about minus nine celsius for those of _ soon. 15 it's about minus nine celsius for those of us - soon. 15 it's about minus nine celsius for those of us who i celsius for those of us who talk new money. can you give us a sense of the bigger picture and how this storm is moving? the storm started last night as a small cluster of clouds of the coast of florida. it moved rapidly north—east, developing and fuelled by the powerful contrast between this arctic error mass, it was sit below 0 f “p error mass, it was sit below 0 f up in quebec a couple of days ago and the cold air is moving south, smashing into this ridge of tropical air and that is how you are able to get this prolific snow to accumulate here in parts of coastal massachusetts. the storm actually stalled out a little bit after moving really quickly yesterday and that is how we have been able to get the snow to accumulate for so many hours today, prolonging the impacts of this historic lizard. we have heard _

of this historic lizard. we have heard this - of this historic lizard. we have heard this phrase, from cyclone or bomba genesis storm, can you tell us what that means? it can you tell us what that means?— can you tell us what that means? ., , ., ., ., means? it has to do with how fast the storm _ means? it has to do with how fast the storm is _ means? it has to do with how fast the storm is intensifying, it is measured by its minimum central pressure, if the storm's pressure drops more than 2a millibars and 2a hours at considered meteorological a—bomb cyclone. this storm actually deep and 42 millibars living at inaudible, so it is a very, very powerful storm. and very, very powerful storm. and what kind _ very, very powerful storm. and what kind of— very, very powerful storm. and what kind of threat _ very, very powerful storm. and what kind of threat does this storm pose?— storm pose? quite a lot. we started out _ storm pose? quite a lot. we started out as _ storm pose? quite a lot. we started out as i've _ storm pose? quite a lot. we| started out as i've mentioned with the wet heavy snow clinging to trees and power lines, so we have power outage issues that is obviously dangerous as the temperatures are dropping tonight, lots of people without heat and electricity. a little bit further to the west and now we're getting the cold air, you are worried about blowing snow, significantly reducing visibility, making travel extremely treacherous. even if you didn't get a whole lot of

snow, only six to 12 inches, you can get drifts of several feet, over a metre of drifts and that is making travel extremely treacherous. and then of course the cold air is coming in, temperatures are going to be dipping into the single digits tonight with wind chills well below 0 f, that is dangerous cold so if you are stuck outside in your car, if you are without power, this is a potentially serious situation.— a potentially serious situation. g ., . ,, , ., ., , situation. 0k jackson in cape cod, stay _ situation. 0k jackson in cape cod, stay warm, _ situation. 0k jackson in cape cod, stay warm, stay - situation. 0k jackson in cape cod, stay warm, stay safe, l cod, stay warm, stay safe, thank you very much for being with us. ., ., thank you very much for being with us. ., ,, , ., thank you very much for being with us. ., ,, i. thank you very much for being with us. ., ~' ,, . thank you very much for being with us. ., ,, i. . ., with us. thank you so much for havin: with us. thank you so much for having me- _ britain says it's preparing a series of diplomatic and military initiatives in europe next week, in the wake of growing tensions with russia. the prime minister, borisjohnson, has issued a statement saying the uk is willing to double its nato troop contingent in the baltic states and eastern europe, as well as send defensive weapons to estonia. mrjohnson is also due to go to eastern europe in the coming days as part of diplomatic efforts to prevent russia invading ukraine. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake explained the uk

response to the crisis in ukraine. what we have tonight is some more detail on what boris johnson said to mps in the house of commons a few days ago, and it was that britain was prepared to deploy troops to protect nato allies in europe if russia invades ukraine. it seems this possible move to double the number of uk forces in estonia, which currently stands at around 900 or so, so that would put it at around 2000, would be a pre—emptive move, not necessarily in response to any russian invasion. downing street is talking about this as an example of the biggest possible offer to nato that the uk is willing and able to make to step up its presence in the region, to protect nato allies and to help ukraine itself bolster its defences. this is not necessarily definitely going to happen. we are told diplomats will go to brussels this week to finalise

the details, of course it will have to be signed off, you would imagine, by other members of nato as well. and the prime minister will go to the region this week, he will talk to vladimir putin, and in contrast to this, or alongside this, if you like, this pre—emptive move to send extra uk troops, we are told he will reiterate the need for russia to re—engage diplomatically, as the uk sees it, and to attempt to persuade russia to step back from any potential aggressive moves. meanwhile russia has now gathered more than 100,000 troops, tanks and missiles on its border with ukraine, but has repeatedly denies it's planning any sort of invasaion. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet has more from kyiv. ukrainians have long lived with war. dozens of british soldiers, here since 2015, not long after russia first invaded. but with more of moscow's troops and weapons now massed along the border, diplomacy builds, too. next week, boris johnson's

visit to this region takes it up a notch. here in kyiv, there's concern that too much talk of war can be risky, too, but they need their friends. it's a good signal for us, not only for us, not only for ukraine, but also to russian federations, that we have strong partners. we will not be alone with this, if the invasion comes to be, so it's a good signal. moscow sends conflicting signals. more troops, more weaponry moving in, but its door still open to find a way out. washington does the same — talking to allies in moscow, too, while readying military reinforcements and warnings about any war. it would be horrific, it would be terrible and it's not necessary, and we think

a diplomatic outcome is the way to go here. this is what it looks like now. russia released these images of its anti—aircraft missiles arriving in neighbouring belarus for next month's military exercises. a month fraught with ever—growing risk. lyse doucet, bbc news, kyiv. let's get some of the day's other news. mps in italy have re—elected sergio mattarella as the country's president, after failing to agree on an alternative candidate. the 80—year—old had said he didn't want a second term, but was persuaded to stay on after a week of inconclusive votes in parliament. 13 people have been killed and another ten injured in mexico after a a vehicle overturned. emergency services from jalisco state said the truck flipped into a ditch on a highway often used by catholic pilgrims visiting a local shrine.

libya's interior ministry has received nearly $47 million worth of new equipment from italy to help the country combat illegal immigration to europe. the eu—funded hardware includes spare parts for coastguard boats, mobile administrative offices and logistical support. after a week—long drive across canada, a convoy of trucks has arrived in ottawa to protest against vaccine mandates and covid—i9 measures. the movement was sparked by new rules for truckers crossing the us—canada border, implemented byjustin trudeau's liberal government earlier this month. here in the uk, a nine—year—old boy and a 60—year—old woman have died after being hit by falling trees during storm malik. the boy was killed after a tree fell staffordshire, while the woman was killed in aberdeen. power lines have also been affected with thousands of homes in scotland and england without electricity. a second storm — storm corrie — is expected to bring further high winds to scotland.

catriona renton has this report. widespread disruption as storm malik swept its way into northern parts of the uk. the north—east of scotland took a battering. in bradford, lee warner and his friend richard had been packing up their gear after a bike ride. we were sat between the two back seats, just crouching down, really. pushed me further down. i lay down on the floor. my friend pulled me out of the back. an almighty crash. to be honest, i thought my friend were dead. i think he has been really lucky. northern powergrid says tens of thousands of customers are still without power, mostly in northumberland and county durham. tonight, county durham county council has declared a major incident following the impact of the storm. this is just day one — storm arwen lasted more than a week, ten days for some people. so we are not in the same position now as we were then,

thankfully. the numbers we are dealing with are much smaller this time but, of course, for anyone affected by it, it is a significant disruption. this afternoon in staffordshire, police were called after a tree fell in winnothdale near stoke—on—trent. a nine—year—old boy later died in hospital. and in aberdeen, in north—east scotland, emergency services were called at 10:30am to the place where this tree had fallen but, sadly, a 60—year—old woman had died. gusts of 85mph were recorded on the aberdeenshire coast. at one point, more than 80,000 homes in scotland were without power and transport was disrupted. a second storm, storm corrie, is now on its way, expected to bring further high winds, especially to northern scotland tomorrow. catriona renton, bbc news. this is bbc news. the headlines: a powerful winter storm

is battering the east coast of the united states. forecasters are warning of historic blizzards, deep snowfall, power cuts and travel chaos. as tension remains high on the border between russia and ukraine, the uk is considering doubling the number of uk troops in eastern europe. it's thought that 1.3 million people in the uk are living with long covid, and hundreds of thousands of them experience breathlessness. traditional lung scans often appear to be normal, though. but researchers in oxford are using a different technique in a clinical trial which does show problems in these patients' lungs. they hope that understanding the problem will lead to better treatment options. 0ur health correspondent catherine burns explains. flo van diemen van thor was never one for just sitting down inside, but she says long covid has been a horror show. it was not just the breathlessness that was really hard, it was the muscle weakness — legs like jelly and just thinking, "if i try

to go down the stairs, they might not carry me". but this is the ct scan of flo's lungs and, like so many long covid patients, everything looks normal and healthy. these are my lungs. i've had them all my life. i know there's something wrong with them. flo is taking part in a study in oxford. breathe in. . .and out. researchers think they're the first in the world to be able to show abnormalities in the lungs of long covid patients. flo and the other volunteers have an mri scan as they suck in xenon gas. it behaves like oxygen and should cross from their lungs into their bloodstream. the numbers are small so far — 36 patients — 11 who didn't need hospital care when they were first infected but went on to get long covid. it's a very exciting and very encouraging first step. so what we have here is one of the patients from our trial and the ct scan

is entirely normal. they have then gone on and had a xenon gas mri. this is the xenon getting through normally into their bloodstream from their lungs and the blacker areas are where the xenon gas or oxygen would struggle to get through. it's early days for this study and there are still lots of questions, including exactly what is causing these abnormal lung scans. in the meantime, there aren't many of these specially adapted mri scanners across the country. if this research proves they are worthwhile, it would take some serious investment and several months to scale them up across the nhs. and breathe out... lovely. really good, really good. flo says this was the turning point for her, learning breathing techniques with a respiratory physiotherapist. i just want you to try and slow... it might take her longer to recover after exercise now, but she's moved up a level in karate. she's not back to normal yet, but thinks she will get there.

catherine burns, bbc news. to the australian open now, and recapping that historic win by world number one ashleigh barty in front of an adoring home crowd. she beat american danielle collins in straight sets, making her the first australian player to win a singles title on home soil since 1978. let's get more on this now from tennis commentator craig gabriel, whojoins us live from melbourne. craig, a very good sunday afternoon to you there. an incredible win for ash barty, third grand slam title, but her first in front of a home crowd. tell us, what was the atmosphere like? 1&5 tell us, what was the atmosphere like? as i think about it, — atmosphere like? as i think about it, i'm _ atmosphere like? as i think about it, i'm getting - atmosphere like? as i think about it, i'm getting goose| about it, i'm getting goose bumps all over again. this was absolutely beyond electric. it was brilliant. when she hit the final point crosscourt that fought off the forehand, the crowd just rose in unison and had the roof been closed over the rod laver arena, it would

have been shuddering, the noise was so loud and so adoring, as you suggested. this was just an incredible achievement on her part, to win the australian open, the first australian player to do it in 44 years and christy 0'neill did it in 1978, the last australian player to win an australian open singles title, within the first row of the president's watching it unfold —— chris 0'neil. it was surreal, and amazing experience.— surreal, and amazing experience. surreal, and amazing exerience. ~ ~ ., ., surreal, and amazing exerience. ~ ., ., a experience. we know that ash ba is experience. we know that ash barty is a _ experience. we know that ash barty is a proud _ experience. we know that ash barty is a proud indigenous i barty is a proud indigenous woman and so is her mental even goornong cawley, herself a former champ, she was there to surprise ash barty. how significant is this for first nations is children watching at home? ., ., , ., home? huge, evonne was a full-time — home? huge, evonne was a full-time champion - home? huge, evonne was a full-time champion at i home? huge, evonne was a full-time champion at the i full—time champion at the australian open and evonne doing the presentation was held from ash, i suspected that

something was up that people only close to ashley knew about it and evonne was kept to one side and herface it and evonne was kept to one side and her face was beaming when she saw evonne come out and the announcement and this was so important for three indigenous children because these are two women who are incredible role models for them. they feel now that if ash and evonne in the past had achieved what they have, and she is well number one, then why can't they do it? and i think this will be such an impetus for young kids, just girls but boys as well, and also in there was cathy freeman who won 0lympic also in there was cathy freeman who won olympic gold here at the sydney 0lympics, so the three women together, it was a powerful statement, three women together, it was a powerfulstatement, it three women together, it was a powerful statement, it really was, for first nations people. and finally in a few hours' time, the men's final gets under way with both players having the chance to write history. what are we looking out for? ~ ,,., , history. what are we looking out for? ~ , ., out for? absolutely, and i think we _ out for? absolutely, and i think we will— out for? absolutely, and i think we will see - out for? absolutely, and i think we will see a - out for? absolutely, and i think we will see a long i out for? absolutely, and i. think we will see a long final between daniil medvedev and

rafael nadal, rafa attempting to become the first man to get to become the first man to get to 21 majors and brake this 3—way tie that he shares with roger federer and novak djokovic. it is by far the sentimental favourite for the australian open championship. but daniil medvedev is playing extraordinary tennis again, the only player to come back from two sets to love at the australian open and he too, on the history side, could, if he wins, be the first man in the open era to win his next grand 0pen era to win his next grand slam after winning his first, he won the us open and now he tries to be the australian open. nobody else has done 0pen. nobody else has done that, to win straight after winning a first major. winning a first ma'or. craig, we will have i winning a first ma'or. craig, we will have to i winning a first major. craig, we will have to leave - winning a first major. craig, we will have to leave it i winning a first major. craig, l we will have to leave it there. craig gabriel from melbourne. thanks for being with us! fik. sticking with sport now. us media say one of the biggest stars in world sport, the american football quarterback tom brady, is expected to announce his retirement after 22 seasons. he's considered by many to be the best nfl quarterback player in the history of the game. he won six super bowls

with the new england patriots before joining the tampa bay buccaneers and winning a seventh in his first season there. earlier, i spoke to nick hamilton. he is a reporter and host at nitecast media and siriusxm. i asked him about some of the mixed messages around his retirement. well, as of right now, the early reports came out that tom brady was leaning more towards retirement and was going to announce his retirement in the last couple days but as of the few hours, tom brady's agent, along with his dad, thomas brady senior, came out and said tom brady has not made an official announcement yet, which more than likely will probably be coming sometime in the coming days of this week. i can't see tom brady allowing something as significant as the announcement of his retirement getting out before he had the opportunity to do it himself. now, for those who are not nfl fans watching around the world, give us a sense of tom brady and some of the high points of his career. i mean, tom brady is arguably the goat. he's one of the greatest of all time when it comes

to the world of the nfl and the game of football. i mean, this is a guy that's thrown for over 84,000 yards, thrown for over 600 touchdowns in his career, seven—time nfl champion and just personified greatness. this is the guy that was not overly athletically gifted but he had a way and a will to win. much like how we talk about kobe bryant and his mamba mentality or the great michaeljordan, this is how we talk about tom brady — his willingness to win, his willingness to make other players around him better, and he expected nothing less than success and excellence and this is exactly what tom brady was about. tom brady was about winning at all costs. i mean, this is a guy that actually had different instruments as far as just exercise equipment, he hired a different nutritionist, just to make sure he was available and ready for the next season and so, at 44 years of age, 22—year season — i mean, excuse me, 22 years in the nfl, i mean this is a guy who has accomplished it all. i don't see anybody eclipsing his record any time in my lifetime.

as we said, he has been billed as the greatest quarterback of all time. what is it that makes someone — or made him — such a great quarterback in particular? i think it's just his drive, his preparation, his willingness to win at all costs. this is a guy that is cerebral, he's highly intelligent when it comes to the game of football. this is a guy that does not back down. as we saw last week against the los angeles rams, he was just a — maybe a field goal or a touchdown short of coming back and moving on to the nfc championship, so this is a guy that you cannot leave too much time on the clock for, i don't care if it's 28—3, as we saw the atlanta falcons in one super bowl — he was able to come back and eclipse that and he was the same guy that made sure he was going to guide his team to win. i don't care what it took, what it takes, tom brady was the one that said, "we are going to win this at every aspect of the game" and it's exactly what he did, which is he became a seven—time champion.

nick hamilton. 0ne one of the strongest winter stores in years is continuing to bow to the east coast of the united states and travel chaos and widespread power cuts —— storms. 0ver and widespread power cuts —— storms. over 60 centimetres of snow fell on parts of new york state as well as in massachusetts, where high winds of cause more than 100,000 power outages. several states have declared emergencies in response to the blizzard and residents across the eastern seaboard have been told to avoid unnecessary travel. it's thousand flights have been cancelled throughout the weekend. —— 6000. you'll find much more on all the stories we're covering on our website. it's updated 2a hours a day. there's this article, explaining why germany is refusing to send weapons to ukraine. just head to bbc.com/news or download the bbc news app. that's it for me for the time being. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @richpreston. for me and the rest of the team

here in london, thanks for watching. we will see you next time. goodbye for now. hello there. the winds from storm malik eased down quite quickly during the latter part of saturday and we saw a ridge of high pressure build in to give us a fine start for sunday morning — cold, frosty and sunny for many — but conditions will deteriorate across the north and the west of the country later as the next deepening area of low pressure hurtles in off the atlantic. this has been named by the uk met office as storm corrie, and that'll arrive later on sunday across scotland, northern ireland, northern england. but we start the day off largely fine and settled with lots of sunshine around. the sunshine will hold on across central, southern and eastern parts of england through the day. cloud will build up further north and west and it'll start turning wetter and windier for northern ireland. northern and western scotland, some snow developing on the hills. gales developing across the western isles. it's going to be a chilly day across the board for sunday — highs of 5 to 9 degrees.

and then through sunday evening and overnight as storm corrie moves across the north of the uk, a real squeeze in the isobars behind this system as it pushes out into the north sea, so i think some of the greatest impacts will be felt once again across scotland. but we have a blanket yellow warning of wind gusts for the northern half of the uk — 50—60 mph gusts here — and an amberwarning for the northern half of scotland, where we could see gusts 70—80 mph, maybe even stronger than that for a time across the north—west of the country. along with that, there'll be some heavy rain and mountain snow which will clear away and then, in the early hours of monday, we'll see a rash of blustery showers pushing down from the north—west with clear spells in between, some wintriness over the higher ground. a chilly night to come, but not as cold as the previous night. so we start monday, then, off on a chilly note. there will be some sunshine around across eastern areas. the strong winds will have cleared away by this point but it will be a breezy day with further showers packing

in to northern and western areas. again, some of these will be wintry on the hills. and another fairly cool day to come — 6—9 degrees. we could just make 10 degrees across south wales, south west england. beyond then, as we move through the week, we'll see further wet and windy weather affecting northern and eastern parts of the country around this area of high pressure. not as windy as what we've had over the weekend, but with higher pressure always towards the south, many southern areas will tend to stay a lot calmer. and there will be some milder air moving in from the south—west for a time. most of the rain in the north. signs of it turning chillier for all by the end of the week. catriona renton, bbc news.

this is bbc news, the headlines: a powerful winter storm is battering the east coast of the united states. forecasters are warning of historic blizzards, deep snowfall, power cuts and travel chaos. the governors of new york, newjersey, massachusetts and virginia have declared emergencies and urged people to stay home. britain says it's preparing a series of diplomatic and military initiatives in europe next week in the wake of growing tension between ukraine and russia. the prime minister, borisjohnson, issued a statement saying the uk was willing to double its nato troop contingent in eastern europe. a more detailed study is under way after initial research finds some people with long covid may have hidden damage to their lungs. researchers asked patients to inhale xenon gas before undergoing an mri scan. it revealed the lungs had difficulty in smoothly transferring oxygen into the bloodstream.