welcome to bbc news — i'm anjana gadgil. our top stories: chaos, confusion and yet another delay — the us house of representatives adjourns despite failing to choose a new speaker. the abandoned city — we have a special report from bakhmut in eastern ukraine where fierce fighting has forced people to flee. pretty much every second you hear the sound of artillery fire. you can tell every minute that this is a city that is being intensely fought over. the man known as the architect of the notorious us college admissions scandal has

been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. and millions of catholics around the world prepare to say a final farewell at the funeral of pope benedict xvi. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the us house of representatives has adjourned for a second day without electing a speaker, extending the paralysis at the heart of american politics. president biden said having a congress that can't function is embarassing for the country. republican kevin mccarthy has been stopped six times so far by a group of hardliners within his own party who refuse to back him. without a speaker the chamber is unable to swear in members, fill vital committee roles or adopt rules for passing legislation. let's speak to our north america correspondent peter bowes.

what has just happened, what is going on? good question. another rollercoaster david the end result is the same, voting for the new speaker, in that there is no result, the impasse, the deadlock continues because kevin mccarthy didn't get the required number of votes, 280, to take on that role. there is a hard core of opponents, rebels, some people are calling them, about 20 you consistently vote against him. what happened after the three rounds of voting earlier, they adjourned and that allow the republicans, at least some of them from that group, and kevin mccarthy, to get together in a room behind the scenes. they brought in the pizza, they sat around the table in an attempt to thrash this out in that meeting broke up with kevin mccarthy suggesting that some progress was being made, but he also said he didn't see any point in having another round of voting this evening. clearly

believing that he wasn't in a position to win. he thinks he says he is making progress, we really won't know until a few hours�* time really won�*t know until a few hours�* time and they reconvening it on thursday, day three, and potentially vote again. three, and potentially vote aaain. . , again. peter, what happens next? well, _ again. peter, what happens next? well, what _ again. peter, what happens next? well, what happens. again. peter, what happens - next? well, what happens next? this could _ next? well, what happens next? this could happen _ next? well, what happens next? this could happen over _ next? well, what happens next? this could happen over the - next? well, what happens next? this could happen over the next| this could happen over the next few hours, they could go very late into the night. the republicans are still talking, they are trying to thrash out a situation which will give them a candidate they can all rally around, and if that is to be kevin mccarthy, what concessions is the offering those opponents in his own party? is he discussing with them potential positions on committees, rings that he can offer them to sweep the situation to encourage them to vote for him. it seems isn�*t there yet but those are the kinds of discussions that are likely to be happening right now. �* ., , ., .,

now. peter bowes, our north america correspondent, - now. peter bowes, our north | america correspondent, thank you very much. we can now speak to republican strategist rina shah. this stalemate upon what is it say about the factions of the republican party?— say about the factions of the republican party? what it says about the republican - republican party? what it says about the republican party - republican party? what it says| about the republican party writ large as they are showing the american public that they are enduring a once in a century humiliation. this is the kind of thing that i would have never thought was coming this soon. 0f never thought was coming this soon. of course for many years, i saw the firebrands in the house, typically those that come from the far right house freedom caucus, really make demands and say that they wanted to get rid of the establishment, they wanted to break it once and for all but what has transpired in the course of today and even yesterday as lead so many of us to believe that we really may be at an impasse and there could be a real possibility we don�*t see mccarthy seated as speaker.

don't see mccarthy seated as seaker. ~ . . speaker. what are the never kevins, the _ speaker. what are the never kevins, the republicans - speaker. what are the neverj kevins, the republicans who refused to hope vote for him hope to achieve?— refused to hope vote for him hope to achieve? yesterday we thou~ht hope to achieve? yesterday we thought there _ hope to achieve? yesterday we thought there might _ hope to achieve? yesterday we thought there might be - hope to achieve? yesterday we thought there might be five - hope to achieve? yesterday we thought there might be five of| thought there might be five of them but can�*t be acknowledged before the boat there were up to 20 and that�*s what we�*ve seen, there are about 20 conservative firebrands are really just do conservative firebrands are reallyjust do not want conservative firebrands are really just do not want to see establishment win and i keep saying that because this is the phrase they keep using, they don�*t have any policy goals or real demands, so to speak. they talk about the debt ceiling what they are trying to say is, they don�*t want republicans who know go shed with the democrats. to meet that signifies a fundamental lack of knowledge about how congress works as an institution and a lack of desire to govern as well. these are largely people who want to see more investigations into president biden�*s son, hunter biden, for example, they want to take revenge against democrats for what they did in congress last year. these are all kinds of money demands if you ask me, they are making demands of kevin mccarthy, that some of

them he frankly can�*t even meet because he doesn�*t have the authority to do so, despite the speaker�*s decision being all—powerful. speaker's decision being all-powerful.— speaker's decision being all- powerful. speaker's decision being all-owerful. ~ ., , , all-powerful. who blinks first in our all-powerful. who blinks first in your opinion? _ all-powerful. who blinks first in your opinion? - _ all-powerful. who blinks first in your opinion? - same - in your opinion? - same politics. _ in your opinion? - same politics, and _ in your opinion? - same politics, and we - in your opinion? - same politics, and we are - in your opinion? - same l politics, and we are asked in your opinion? - same - politics, and we are asked to make predictions, if i were of that type, i would be in the betting business, but i�*m not so tonight i would say this, i am saddened that it seems like there is no movement, there are some voices but i�*m hearing tonight some rumours on capitol hill that there are more concessions mccarthy is willing to make and some of these freedom caucus members are signalling that it is good so it looks like it will be them, they will be the ones to hand some votes over to kevin so he can get that magic number, whatever the magic number is because listen, this is about a majority of people who are in the room so it�*s been the number 218 which he hasn�*t been able to achieve across this ballot but if some people leave the room, that number could go

lower and the congressional threshold less and the mccarthy could pull it off but there are a number of ways this could come out, i think he will take it in the end. it come out, i think he will take it in the end.— it in the end. it seems crazy to the outside _ it in the end. it seems crazy to the outside world - it in the end. it seems crazy to the outside world on - it in the end. it seems crazy to the outside world on day| to the outside world on day one, chaos on day two. what is the political impact here? it�*s the political impact here? it's areat. it the political impact here? it's great. it makes _ the political impact here? it�*s great. it makes us look under serious on the world stage and thatis serious on the world stage and that is critically painful or someone like me who considers themselves a great patriot. i came up in american politics at a time when all i read about was public servants. right now we are in an area with a large majority of people in congress right now, in the house republican caucus, have come to power after 2009 and that is a really important stuff there because the tea party movement came to be in 2008/ and these were people who wanted to rip the establishment but at that time they had policy goals, like i mentioned earlier, there doesn�*t seem to be any goals right now, these people seem to want to cause chaos and disarray, they want to

embarrass the establishment and they will also want to gain instant celebrity status is well so it really takes away from that desire to be public servants and do the best for the american people. i certainly think we will recover from this, i�*m an optimist by couldn�*t have worked in politics this long but i do think this is a huge embarrassment for republicans. an plenty of drama still to come. rina shah, thank you very much. a ukrainian military commander in the shattered eastern town of bakhmut has described to the bbc the fierceness of the fighting there. he said he hadn�*t seen russian forces fight anywhere else with similar determination, advancing under fire even when the ground was littered with their comrades�* bodies. a us official has said russian forces have made incremental advances around the town, with mercenaries from the russian paramilitary wagner group heavily involved in the assault. the battle has been described as a �*meat grinder�*, with high numbers of casualties on both sides. almost all of the city�*s 70,000 occupants have fled. russia is working hard to capture bakhmut — in the hope it could lead to the fall of slovyansk and kramatorsk as well, the two most important cities in the donbas still under ukrainian control. but ukrainian forces are holding firm. the bbc�*s yogita limaye

reports from the city. —— russia is working hard to capture bakhmut — in the hope it could lead to the fall of slovyansk and kramatorsk as well, the two most important cities in the donbas still under ukrainian control. but ukrainian forces are holding firm. the bbc�*s yogita limaye reports from the city. munitons explode. this is what the merciless bombardment of a city looks like. munitions explode. and how it sounds. explosions echo. once a quiet place known for sparkling wine, bakhmut is now a byword for war, and ukraine�*s resistance. russia is using all its might to try and take this city. we drove past abandoned buildings. 90% of the people have fled. wolf this is what you can see everywhere

in bakhmut , destruction. 0n the other side of the road you, can see apartment blocks that are completely destroyed. we�*re walking all over shards of glass, pretty much every second you hear the sound of artillery fire. you can tell every minute that this is a city that is being intensely fought over. and over the past few months of fierce battle, even though it�*s at an important road intersection, it is the symbolic importance of this fight that has become greater then its strategic location. bakhmut is the home anatoly has known all his life. we see him barely react when a shell lands a few hundred metres away. shell explodes. he�*s come to an aid centre, a lifeline for those still here. "why don�*t you leave?" we asked him.

translation: l have - nowhere to go, i am alone. who would want to take an 86—year—old? here at least sometimes, when the soldiers throw away food orsoup, ifind it and eat it. and i get free bread. in my whole life, i�*ve never seen anything like this. tetiana scherbak used to be a midwife before the war. now she�*s a volunteer. translation: | stay - because i'm needed here. of course i�*m scared. i�*ve been caught in shelling three times. i suffered a concussion. but what use would i be hiding in a basement? people stay for different reasons. the explosions don�*t stop, but no—one flinches. it�*s as if they�*ve become numb. running from bombs every day, repeated trauma, without an end. this person told us she and her daughter live like mice, running out quickly

to get bread. walking to this centre for a bit of food is a risk they take to survive. 0utside, we met 0leksiy reva, the mayor of bakhmut. we can�*t show his location. "it is myjob, my life, my fate, to stay here. "i won�*t leave the people, and i trust that ukraine�*s "military won�*t allow my city to fall," he said. we went to see ukrainian defence, taken to a location we can�*t disclose. underground, to one of their command centres in the city. the heart of the military operation. fewjournalists have been here. this is a live feed from drones beyond the eastern edge of bakhmut, where russian

forces are stationed. the men here are trying to locate the target for an assault team that�*s just gone out. this commander told us this is the toughest battle he�*s ever fought. translation: we haven�*t seen enemy troops like this before. their soldiers openly advance under fire, even if they�*re littering the ground with their bodies, even if only 20 are left of their 60 men. it is very difficult to hold against such an invasion. a few weeks ago, we had to withdraw from the eastern approaches to the city to save our soldiers. they showed us this video, the east of the city on new year�*s morning under russian attack. in the fields outside bakhmut, we see the daily grind

to keep a hold on it. the winter makes it harder to camouflage guns and men. we watch them fire soviet—era weapons. soldiers tell us they work well and do the job, but modern equipment would help push through the deadlock on the ground. 0n the other end isn�*tjust the russian military, there are also thousands of mercenaries from the private wagner group. they expect incoming fire, so we retreat to a bunker. why does it feel like it�*s deadlocked on the ground? "it�*s stuck for many reasons. "the winter makes it harder to use equipment. "we also have a shortage of weapons and ammunition," 21—year—old 0leksandr replies. back to positions they go. each side trying to wear the other down

in this battle of endurance. yogita limaye, bbc news, bakhmut. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: tributes to fay weldon, the prolific british novelist who�*s died at the age of 91. the japanese people are in mourning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. "good grief" — after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer, paul simon, starts his tour of south africa tomorrow _ in spite of protests and violence - from some _ black activist groups. they say international artists

should continue to boycott south africa _ until majority rule is established. . around the world people have been paying tribute to the iconic rock star, david bowie, who sold 140 million albums in a career that spanned half a century. his family announced overnight that he died of cancer at the age of 69. the world tallest skyscraper opens later today. the burj dubai has easily overtaken its nearest rivals. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the us house of representatives has adjourned for the day, despite again failing to choose a new speaker. a battlefield commander in the eastern ukrainian town of bakhmut has told the bbc the fighting there is ferocious. many have fled the city. the funeral of the former pope, benedict the 16th, will take

place on thursday. his successor, pope francis, will preside over the service. more than 60,000 people are expected to attend. the pope�*s body has been lying in state since monday, and huge crowds have been filing past to pay their respects. 0ur religion editor aleem maqbool reports from the vatican. in one part of the vatican, pope francis was making an appearance in his weekly audience. he started by paying tribute to his predecessor. his funeral, he will lead tomorrow. a very short distance away, thousands were taking theirfinal opportunity to file past benedict xvi lying in state. after his burial, for the first time in nearly a decade, there will be only one pope in the vatican. so what is having the former pope

around been like for the current incumbent? we asked one of those closest to him. it does have an effect. there is a presence there which is undeniable. i don�*t think it has obstructed pope francis in any way. he has done, said and decided what he wanted to do. but it is a powerful presence, i think most of us have been in the situations where there is a bit of a shadow from our predecessor and may be people make comparisons and say, we did it differently in the past. in the recent months, pope francis has struggled with mobility. there was speculation he was reluctant to consider resigning while pope benedict was around and he might now consider that option more freely. if we had three popes, that would be, we have to say a little bit difficult to manage, i would think.

but now pope benedict has gone to the lord, i think, yes, pope francis will stick to those principles that he has established, he will continue in this ministry as long as he believes and says he is capable. pope francis has always shown immense respect for his predecessor. in the morning, tens of thousands of people will pull into st peter�*s square tojoin him in laying benedict xvi to rest. the man known as the architect of the college admissions scandal has been sentenced. more than 50 people have been convicted for their roles in

the scandal. let�*s get more from our reporter who joins the scandal. let�*s get more from our reporter whojoins me now. remind us what the scandal was about in the first place? it was dubbed operation varsity and the details are pretty shocking. wealthy parents who wanted to get the children into elite universities, schools like yale or stamford would give william singer money and he would funnel that money to support coaches at universities and in exchange they would mark these students as sports recruits even though these were not athletes, so it would be in low profile sports like water polo and rowing and to really earn its title of a cheating scandal, william singer would also help them falsify their couege also help them falsify their college entrance exam results. there were some fairly high—profile parents, felicity —— celebrities like felicity huffman, lori loughlin, they were accused of bribing half $1

million to get their two daughters into the university of southern california and mark them as fake rowers and all of this with the help of william singer. this with the help of william sin . er. �* , �* , singer. and he isn't the first or indeed — singer. and he isn't the first or indeed the _ singer. and he isn't the first or indeed the only _ singer. and he isn't the first or indeed the only person i singer. and he isn't the first or indeed the only person to singer. and he isn't the first. or indeed the only person to be convicted? ida or indeed the only person to be convicted?— or indeed the only person to be convicted? no he's not stopping more than _ convicted? no he's not stopping more than 50 — convicted? no he's not stopping more than 50 people, _ convicted? no he's not stopping more than 50 people, parents, | more than 50 people, parents, sports coaches, have been convicted as well. felicity huffman and lori loughlin were convicted as well and lori loughlin did serve present time but william singer has received the longest sentence. in fact prosecutors wanted six years and the reason for that is because they believe he was the architect of all of this and in architect of all of this and in a court filing he says he feels great shame, great remorse, great shame, great remorse, great regret for all of this, that he has been shunned by friends and family at his lost everything which is why he is apparently living in a mobile home community for seniors. he is still being asked to pay more than $10 million as a fine but all of this set up a real debate because american universities have been known for letting students in when the parents have made very big

donations, but what the courts are saying is that this was a lot more blatant and illegal. thank you very much. let�*s get some of the day�*s other news. france is to supply ukraine with armoured fighting vehicles, the first time western—designed fighting vehicles would be sent there. the two countries�* defence ministers will soon discuss how many amx—10 rc vehicles will be supplied. it�*s not clear when the consignment would arrive in ukraine. the deal was announced after telephone talks between presidents zelensky and macron. unseasonably warm temperatures have broken records in eight countries across europe for the month of january. they include poland and the czech republic which registered 19 degrees celsius on new years day, their average is usually below zero. the warm weather has affected ski resorts across the alps which don�*t have enough snow.

the author fay weldon — whose best—known works included the life and loves of a she—devil — has died at the age of 91. the prolific writer published more than 30 novels during her career, as well as collections of short stories, films for television, and pieces ofjournalism. 0ur arts correspondent rebecca jones looks back at her life. fay weldon wrote playful, punchy tales in which women were exploited by men, though they often got their own back. in one, the pregnant heroine receives an awful warning from an older woman. it is only the fear of pregnancy which keeps girls on the straight and narrow. she was brought up in new zealand, a portrait of fay and her sister hangs in the country�*s national gallery. she first made her name as an advertising copywriter. she later claimed her advertising success was down to luck. but life wasn�*t easy. a single mother in her early 20s, she briefly married an older man who wouldn�*t sleep with her. after marrying again, she began writing tv plays and novels while she

was pregnant. she wrote about class, the sexual revolution and the supernatural. you are clumsy. i am not clumsy. _ you are clumsy. i am not clumsy. it _ you are clumsy. i am not clumsy, it did _ you are clumsy. i am not clumsy, it did it - you are clumsy. i am not clumsy, it did it itself. i you had better keep that. but it is your wedding ring! the best loan novel, the life and loves of a she—devil, in which a woman takes revenge on her unfaithful husband, was adapted for television, cementing her reputation as one of britain�*s foremost feminist writers. puffball, one of her best novels, also later became a film, yet as she got older, her views on women�*s roles shifted. well, it wasn�*t just feminism that changed things, it was technology, it was birth control, it was all kinds of other factors. sometimes i think feminism was just a sort of cloak under which capitalism crept up on us all and turned us into a consumer society and made us all go out to work and exhausted us. later in life she urged women to pick up their husbands�* socks. some feminists accused her of betrayal.

she felt herjob was done. "what drove me to feminism 50 years ago," she wrote, "was the myth that men were the breadwinners and women kept house and looked pretty. that myth finally exploded, and i helped to explode it." fay weldon who�*s died at the age of 91. finally, let�*s see some pictures of a fox with just two legs. you can imagine the surprise when a family in derbyshire spotted it in their back garden. they are used to seeing foxes in this area but not like this one. it was up there for at least half—an—hour playing and foraging for food. we have no idea what happened to the animal. the derbyshire wildlife trust says the fox seems to be relatively healthy and has adapted well to life on two legs as you can see there. amazing stuff.

you can reach me on twitter — i�*m @anjanagadgil. and i�*m @anjanagadgil. stay with us for the rest of and stay with us for the rest of the news, wherever you are. hello again. there wasn�*t that much in the way of rain around yesterday but despite that, there was actually still 2a flood warnings in force, most of them in southern england. i think that is a sign that the ground remains pretty saturated. in the atlantic, things are looking quite busy. we�*ve got an area of cloud that�*s going to be bringing low pressure to the northwest of the british isles and some wet and windy weather on the way from that. then near canada, this area of cloud is going to be bringing another belt of heavy rain in friday night and into saturday,

and they could bring some area of localised flooding, i think. for the time being, a mostly dry picture. the brisk winds we had during the day on wednesday are lightening all the while, and those temperatures staying on the mild side for most, eight to ten degrees, even an 11 across england and wales, a few patches of frost possible in well—sheltered areas in north scotland. tomorrow, the best chance at seeing the sunshine will be in the morning across the north—eastern areas where it should be a fine start to the day. the cloud will thicken up pretty quickly and we�*ll see some rain moving in across northern ireland and particularly scotland where it will be quite windy as the day goes by. the wind still coming in from a south—westerly direction, hence the double—figure temperatures that many of us will have. highs again could hit 13 or even 1a degrees, that�*s around six or seven degrees above average for this stage of january. beyond that, thursday night, the low pressure winds up and we start to get a zone of strong winds affecting the northwest of the uk. gales, yes, but there probably will be some severe gales around the far north—west, a band of rain sweeps across the country with blustery showers continuing to feed in close to that low pressure centre then will be to the north of scotland. here on friday, it would be

quite blustery with further showers and lengthy spells of rain in scotland but otherwise, friday is a decent day but for most of the country, it�*s bright with a bit more the way of sunshine. turning a bit cloudy northern ireland through the course of the afternoon. still relatively mild, temperatures 11 and 12 across southern portions of the uk. this band of rain going through friday and into saturday could bring some area of localised surface water flooding, the rain looks heavy but what follows is a mixture of plenty of heavy showers, quite blustery conditions, it is going to be windy through the weekend, and some of those showers could merge together to give some lengthier spells of rain. temperatures edging down just a degree or two. it is still on the mild side but pretty wet at times too.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the us house of representatives has adjourned for a second day without electing a speaker — extending the paralysis at the heart of american politics. the republican majority leader kevin mccarthy has failed six times to get elected because a group of 20 fellow republicans refuse to back him. a ukrainian military commander in the shattered eastern town of bakhmut has described to the bbc the fierceness of the fighting there. he said he hadn�*t seen russian forces fight anywhere else with similar determination. a us official has said russian forces have made incremental advances around the town. the man known as the architect of the notorious us college

admissions scandal has been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. william "rick" singer was convicted of funnelling