welcome to bbc news. i'm anjana gadgil. our top stories: signs that the historic deadlock in the us house of representatives could be coming to an end — frontrunner kevin mccarthy appears to be making headway. i think you saw we made some very good progress. we'll come back tonight. and i believe at that time, we'll have the votes to finish this once and for all. a six—year—old boy has shot his school teacher in the us state of virginia, in what police say was not an accidental shooting. the altercation was between a six—year—old — the student who did have the firearm — and the teacher, and then a round was fired. ukrainian officials accuse russians of opening fire in several areas, in spite

of a temporary ceasefire ordered by president putin. mexico's president defends the military operation that captured the son ofjailed drug trafficker el chapo, triggering violence that killed at least 29 people. cheering and the flamboyant stars of the drag queen world hit the pink carpet in east london. there are signs that days of deadlock in the us house of representatives could be coming to an end. the senior republican kevin mccarthy says he's confident he'll win enough votes in the coming hours to be elected speaker. so far, he's been blocked 13 times by hard—line conservatives. it comes on the second anniversary of the january 6th attack on the us capitol building. gary o'donoghue reports from washington.

commemorating the heroes of january 6th two years ago for their courage in the face of overwhelming odds. it was the moment american democracy teetered on the brink, as protesters, supporters of donald trump, stormed the capitol, bent on preventing the ratification ofjoe biden�*s victory. you know, for those who lost someone on that day, they're proud as the devil that their kin are being honoured but, boy, is it hard. up on capitol hill, democrat members of the house marked the moment in solemn silence, while demonstrating a forceful display of party unity. the tellers agree in their tallies that the total number of votes cast is 431. but it's been a week of disharmony among republicans. a number of trumpian right—wingers have held out

against electing their leader kevin mccarthy as speaker, but while he seems on the verge of cracking their resolve, it's been a long haul. the speaker has not been elected. this week's battle has come at a huge cost to the republican party, with the concessions already granted to the hard right significantly weakening the role of speaker, and the next two years are likely to be dominated by further internal fights. while the battles have continued, congress has been at a standstill. no legislation, no committee work, the internal warfare on view for all americans to see. i think you saw we made i some very good progress. we'll come back tonight, i and i believe at that time, we'll have the votes to - finish this once and for all. itjust reminds me of what my father always told me, "it's not how you start, it's how you finish". . so despite winning a narrow majority in the recent elections in the house, republicans remain hugely divided.

donald trump looming large over that divide and the consequences of january 6th still at the heart of a deeply troubled politics. gary o'donoghue, bbc news, washington. earlier, i spoke to elisabeth anker, an associate professor of american studies at george washington university. she told me how much authority kevin mccarthy might command if he won the race. part of the way that mccarthy might be getting the votes to finally become speaker is by ceding a huge amount of the speaker's power. he is going to be giving a lot of the far—right fringe of the republican party key committee assignments, giving them power to shape the rules. and importantly, giving them power to veto his power. giving them... even 1% at this point in the entire republican caucus can now vote to overturn mccarthy as speaker, or at least call that to a vote.

this is a power that he did not give away at the beginning of this week. so, all of a sudden, we see mccarthy here becoming significantly weaker. and what that's going to mean is that already a fractious party is going to become even more fractious and more dysfunctional if mccarthy becomes speaker. as you say, you use the word dysfunctional, that has been the way it's seemed from outside the us, but what does that mean for the republican party, going forward? i think we're going to continue to see this level of dysfunction. usually, the voting for speaker is a pro—forma vote, it's something that usually goes quite smoothly. it's the one moment that the party is unified before they get down to the business of governing and thrashing out different plans and ideas. if they can't even do something this basic at this moment,

i see it as virtually impossible that they will be able to govern successfully. so on the one hand, it means that it's going to be hard for the republicans to get some of their ideas passed and their legislation passed, but it also means that basic functions of government — like funding the government, like having basic rules for how bills become a law — all of that is going to stop as well, so we're going to see a lot of problems going forward. and what does it mean for the democrats? have they been able to, or are they going to be able to capitalise on this? we have seen them capitalising a lot on it this week. they are more unified this week than they usually are. the republicans are often considered a party that is more unified than the democrats, but we're seeing the democrats this week quite unified. trying to portray themselves as the party that can actually get government to function, the party that is not out to destroy government, but out to enable its functioning. so, in many ways, i think we've seen a lot of discontent even among the republican base, and i think the democrats are trying to position themselves as not the clown show that we're seeing in congress right now, but as the party that can

actually get stuff done. and we can now see live pictures of the house chamber as they reconvene for the vote. it is the fourth day of voting. kevin mccarthy, as we have heard, says he now believes he has enough votes to cross that line. he has already of course lost 13 votes so far. so we will be following events on capitol hill and we will bring the latest to you as soon as we have the result of the first of the latest round of voting, which is actually of course the 14th vote. in other news. a six—year—old boy is in police custody, after a teacher was shot and wounded at an elementary school in virginia. the teacher has suffered a life—threatening gunshot wound after an altercation at richneck elementary school in the city of newport news.

mechelle hankerson — the news director at whro public media, in virginia — has been following the story. we know the six—year—old child is in custody. we also know that the teacher had life—threatening injuries. they are being treated for that. but that was... i want to say about two hours ago, we got that information, so that's about as recent as we have. but nothing else has come from the police department. and how are people — and parents, particularly — feeling about what's gone on today? yeah, i think parents are scared. especially initially in some facebook groups, community facebook groups, parents were seeing a bunch of emergency vehicles racing towards the school, going towards there. obviously, it takes a little bit of time to communicate what was going on, so i think

there was a lot of fear, especially considering our area of virginia just experienced a mass shooting in november, so i think that was the immediate fear. so your area experienced a mass shooting as recently as november, so people must still be feeling very afraid about this kind of thing. this exacerbates that issue, doesn't it? absolutely, absolutely. we've been... lucky is not the right word, but our area has not had a mass shooting at a school. we have had school shootings in the last few years, we had another mass shooting in 2019 in virginia beach, which is just across the water from newport news, where this child shot the teacher. so we're not immune to this issue of mass gun violence in our community. it doesn't get any easier, and it certainly is not easy when it happens even

on a small scale. ukraine has accused russia of continuing its offensive, despite president putin announcing a 36—hour ceasefire to mark the russian orthodox christmas. ukraine didn't agree to the truce and has dismissed it as a cynical ploy by the russians, to resupply their forces. there have been reports of continuing artillery fire on the frontline near the city of kramatorsk, which is in ukrainian hands. our correspondent james waterhouse sent this update from the area. very few expected this ceasefire to actually work. this is a part of ukraine which is no stranger to war. before the full—scale invasion, the army had been fighting russian—backed separatists here. we are very close to the front line, and we've already heard sirens. a possible symptom of the ceasefire not working. but relatively close by, in the city of bakhmut, where we're seeing some of the heaviest fighting, there have been reports of artillery fire being

exchanged by both sides. russian forces have accused ukraine of targeting its positions. ukrainian officials close by have accused russian forces of doing the same. i think these accusations and counter accusations were expected. but, look, vladimir putin had said he wanted to allow orthodox christians to celebrate christmas. all the early signs suggest that this was probably more part of the information war, rather than a meaningful gesture of goodwill. let's now speak to lesya orobets who is a ukrainian mp. she joins us live from alberta, canada, where she is spending orthodox christmas eve with her family. thank you so much forjoining us. thank you so much for inviting. us. thank you so much for inviting-— inviting. so a genuine ceasefire _ inviting. so a genuine ceasefire or _ inviting. so a genuine ceasefire or a - inviting. so a genuine ceasefire or a cynical| inviting. so a genuine - ceasefire or a cynical ploy, what is your take on it? the truth is, _ what is your take on it? the truth is, nobody _ what is your take on it? tue: truth is, nobody bought what is your take on it? tte: truth is, nobody bought it. we had so many attempts of super spires since 2014 when the war

actually started and there was not a single attempt when russians kept their word —— attempts of ceasefires. this is just like a tradition, none of the signs by russia starting with the budapest memorandum and the friendship and border agreement in 1987 isn't worth the paper they took it. moreover, we gave up heavy farmers and rockets which are right now falling on our patterns. —— heavy farmers. two hours on christmas eve, each and every ukrainian spent in a bomb shelter because there was an air siren bomb shelter because there was an airsiren and bomb shelter because there was an air siren and farmers were detected in the air so no sphere —— so no ceasefire is happening right now. sphere -- so no ceasefire is happening right now. clearly an im ortant happening right now. clearly an important day _ happening right now. clearly an important day for _ happening right now. clearly an important day for russia, - important day for russia, should there have been a ceasefire? t should there have been a ceasefire?— should there have been a ceasefire? ., ., ., �* ceasefire? iwould love to. but

asi ceasefire? iwould love to. but as i said. _ ceasefire? iwould love to. but as i said. we — ceasefire? iwould love to. but as i said, we have _ ceasefire? iwould love to. but as i said, we have russians - ceasefire? i would love to. butl as i said, we have russians who believe that that they are russian empire and we have a madmen leading their army. and getting more and more troops on our borders these days. so unfortunately, we do not see how that can happen. we see that this war can be ended on the warfield, not around the table of negotiations. we trade negotiations, they didn't work. we trade them for eight years, no way. they attacked us and they keep attacking. moreover, they keep attacking. moreover, they are the threat not only to ukraine, having the nuclear without any check and balance in the hands of a madmen, this is the real threat. we have seen a lot of horror movies, but now this is the biggest horror movie happening during our lifetime.— our lifetime. your president believes that _ our lifetime. your president believes that the _ our lifetime. your president believes that the ceasefire i our lifetime. your president. believes that the ceasefire may

have been used or was used as an excuse to resupply troops for russia, do you think that has happened?— for russia, do you think that has happened? yes, zelensky is riaht has happened? yes, zelensky is right giving _ has happened? yes, zelensky is right giving this _ has happened? yes, zelensky is right giving this estimation, - right giving this estimation, they are just buying time. they can prepare needs to be as much christian as possible, but i can remind you that easter, also the biggest christian church celebration, we were morning the bucha tragedy and there was no ceasefire on easter. so christmas, when they are actually starting to lose, they are right trying to buy themselves time to regroup and to get in a position to attack us once more as our intelligence reports. lesya orobets. _ intelligence reports. lesya orobets, thank _ intelligence reports. lesya orobets, thank you - intelligence reports. lesya orobets, thank you very i intelligence reports. lesya - orobets, thank you very much for interrupting your christmas with your family to talk to us. thank you so much. you are watching bbc news. the headlines: signs that the historic deadlock in the us house of representatives could be coming to an end — frontrunner kevin mccarthy

appears to be making progress. a six—year—old boy has shot his school teacher in the us state of virginia, in what police say was not an accidental shooting. the mexican president has defended the military operation that captured a drug cartel leader, ovidio guzman — the son ofjailed drug trafficker el chapo. violence erupted in culiacan, a stronghold of the cartel. at least 19 members of the sinaloa cartel and ten members of the military were killed. the arrest comes ahead of a visit by president biden to mexico on sunday. shelley phelps reports. the son of the notorious drug lord el chapo arrested and taken to the same maximum—security prison his father escaped from eight years ago. ovidio guzman is accused of leading a faction of his father's former cartel — one of the largest drug—trafficking organisations in the world.

the arrest sparked a wave of violence. dozens were killed, including ten military personnel. the president of mexico has defended the operation. translation: we regret the loss of lives of those who died - while carrying out theirjobs. we also regret other losses. following the arrest, dozens of vehicles were set alight, and at least two planes at local airports were hit by gunfire, in attacks blamed on the sinaloa cartel. translation: these criminal i organisations shot with weapons at aircraft and the mexican air force, and from commercial airlines, and at the international culiacan airport facilities. nevertheless, they did not achieve their goal of resucing the alleged offender because we neutralised him. this isn't the first time such violence has been seen. guzman was first captured in 2019, but mexican security

forces released him to avoid the threat of further retribution from his supporters. we, of course, have been closely following... he's been on america's radar for years, with the us state department previously offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction. on sunday, president biden is due to visit mexico, but ministers have rejected suggestions by mexican media that guzman's capture is in any way a welcoming gift. shelley phelps, bbc news. ioan grillo is a journalist and author of el narco and blood gun money. hejoins us now from mexico city. how significant is this arrest? in terms of tackling drug trafficking, it might not make a huge difference. i mean, guzman is one of four brothers who are one faction in the

sinaloa cartel and is one of several cartels, but politically, it is very important. when in 2019, the mexican army detained ovidio and he was released, that really showed impunity, it made it look like gangsters can do what they liked and it made the current mexican president obrador looked very weak or corrupt in working with them. so for him, this arrest slays those demons and is very important politically to show that he is fighting drug cartels. , that he is fighting drug cartels, , ., cartels. so tell us a little bit more _ cartels. so tell us a little bit more about _ cartels. so tell us a little bit more about this - cartels. so tell us a little l bit more about this sinaloa cartel because he has been accused of leading a faction of the cartel which is run by his father. , ,, ., father. yes, the sinaloa cartel is the network _ father. yes, the sinaloa cartel is the network which - father. yes, the sinaloa cartel is the network which is - father. yes, the sinaloa cartel is the network which is the - is the network which is the oldest and perhaps richest drug cartel in mexico, which came from the mountains of sinaloa. el chapo grew up in the mountains and was harvesting opium poppies to make heroin and marijuana from when he was and marijuana from when he was a young guy. his son, sons are

very different, they are privately educated kids who grew up, they have change the cartel and modernised it, they are more interested in synthetic drugs, importing chemicals from china to make fentanyl and crystal meth. and these are really driving huge overdose deaths in the united states. in 2021, there was 107 overdose deaths in the united states, which is why there is a lot of pressure for mexico to try and arrest some of these people. qt try and arrest some of these --eole. . ., , try and arrest some of these eo le, . ., , , try and arrest some of these --eole. , ,., , people. of course, his arrest resulted or _ people. of course, his arrest resulted or created - people. of course, his arrest resulted or created a - people. of course, his arrest resulted or created a lot - people. of course, his arrest resulted or created a lot of l resulted or created a lot of violence, with 19 members of the cartel killed and ten members of the military, how are things now?— are things now? well, things are things now? well, things are in a tense _ are things now? well, things are in a tense calm. - are things now? well, things are in a tense calm. in - are in a tense calm. in sinaloa. the amount of unrest, the citizens were confined to their houses, there were blockades all the way up to the next eight. a kind of terror, but tragically in mexico, this terror has become normalised. but people are still scared about something else happening, there are rumours of members of

there are rumours of members of the cartel threatening the government with an ultimatum that unless they release ovidio, they will strike more civilian and military targets, so people are still worried. right now at least, there is calm, but with the cartel violence that has been happening in mexico for the last few years, surely more incidents will happen sooner or later in some part of the country up there.- later in some part of the country up there. that is my last question _ country up there. that is my last question is _ country up there. that is my last question is well, - country up there. that is my last question is well, will. last question is well, will these cartels always have a grip on the city? t these cartels always have a grip on the city?— grip on the city? i mean, i have been _ grip on the city? i mean, i have been covering - grip on the city? i mean, i have been covering this i grip on the city? i mean, i - have been covering this cartel conflict for the last 20 years and it has really only got worse. they have got in many ways more powerful, more entrenched, their paramilitary tactics in popular culture, they are kind of like, the leaders are like a combination of rock stars, paramilitary leaders and criminal ceos. and i think it will be a long time before there is change. i think maybe ten, 15, 20 years, may be a generation, maybe until the core economic factors of drug trafficking change or may be

other demographic changes can really stop this violence. another problem is that guns are still flowing down from the united states and they are the main arms that these gangsters have and are using to carry out this violence.— this violence. thank you very much. northern california has been battered by torrential rain, heavy snow and severe flooding for the last three days. tens of thousands of homes are without power and it will cost thousands of dollars to put right the trail of damage that's been left behind. the seaside towns of santa cruz and capitola bore the brunt of the storms, as wendy urquhart reports. residents of santa cruz wander through the streets taking in the damage wrought by the storms, but it must be almost impossible to know where to begin when this is what you're faced with. trees have been ripped up by their roots and there is debris everywhere. local resident sean berry can hardly believe his eyes.

there's a house down at the end of the private neighbourhood that completely lifted off its foundation. it's sitting in the middle of the street, blocking the rest of the neighbourhood off, you know? till they move that, nobody�*s getting out of the end there. some six miles south of santa cruz, the seaside town of capitola was completely devastated. 35—foot waves tore the wharf apart and brought down the wooden walkway to the pier, which is highly popular with tourists. waterfront businesses are completely submerged, and firefighters are hard at work clearing away fallen trees and debris. so, the clean—up is under way, but locals are already bracing themselves for the next wave of storms that are predicted to batter the coastline in the coming days. wendy urquhart, bbc news. it's funny, flamboyant and, most of all, fabulous. drag has a long history in london. and the stars of the drag queen world gathered to strut their stuff down a pink carpet in the city. wendy hurrell was there.

hello from the pink carpet, laid out for dragcon at the excel centre. brightening up the grey, dreary months are the sequins and the wigs and the flamboyant artistry of the finest drag queens. and this is an important convention because it's where people can feel accepted and be themselves. having 150 queens from the phenomenally successful tv show rupaul�*s drag race in the same room? well, there's some energy. and we were left to marvel at a parade of elaborate costumes and make—up that adorn these performers. which allows forfull expression of their extravagant personas. some fans got quite emotional. ever since i found her, it'sjust kind of like... solidarity with the weird girls, you know? that's why i got so emotional there. it's such an escape from reality, having so much fun watching them perform.

they're just amazing, ijust love it. the queens, no less excited to be here to meet them. this time of year is so tough to keep motivated and keep smiling and keep going. how do you do it, darting? i think the biggest thing to do is paint on a smile, put your favourite colour on and just have a gorgeous time. january is tough on everyone, especially at the moment, with the cost—of—living crisis, christmas is over, it's bleak, so it's so important to do something that makes you feel fabulous and to give you those endorphins that make you feel happy and positive. and if you smile, the world smiles with you. in a wider context, this kind of gathering is important for the lgbt community. this is a safe place. this is a place where your tribe can come together and be whoever you want to be. and ru's always said, the thing about drag is that becoming the image of your imagination is one of the most powerful things you can do, and that's

what dragcon is all about. it's just a really good way to build community with other people, especially if you don't really know anybody who's queer in your hometown. it's just really important thatj it's accessible for everybody, just to show that this is something that. should be celebrated. it celebrates women, it doesn't make fun of us. obviously, the majority are gay men who do it, but now it's more like cisgender queens getting into the limelight and i just really love that. ru paul is now on the decks. setting the tone is for the weekend. over to sell it, baby. we have been queens, me and you, we have got you lot. so come over here, babies, and have a gorgeous time. love you! i'v e i've got to go. see you! well, they are busy ladies! wendy hurrell, bbc london. now, that looks like fun.

you can reach me on twitter. i'm @anjanagadgil. do stay with us. hello there. friday was a calm and settled day, thanks to a ridge of high pressure. fine end to the working week, however. into the weekend, low pressure firmly in control. it's going to be windy with gales, certainly around the coast, and there will be some rain, followed by bands of heavy showers. that's the early rain that will move through today, and that will be followed for the rest of saturday and sunday with blustery showers, strong winds and some sunny spells in—between. most of the showers in the south and west. you can see here the rainfall accumulations over the next couple of days, where most of those showers will be falling. a very wet start for saturday across more central and western areas. that rain band gradually pushing eastwards, affecting eastern england during the latter part of the morning. by around lunchtime, it should clear out into the north sea.

all areas are brighter, with sunny spells, scattered showers, some heavy ones across southern and western areas, and it will be windy, with gales around coasts. you can see the wind speeds even further east, but touching gale force around southern and western coasts. some huge waves crashing onshore as well. temperatures starting mild and dropping back into the afternoon, highs of 8—11 degrees. it stays blustery overnight saturday night, windy gales in the north and west, plenty of showers in southern and western areas, drier interludes further east, and temperatures falling to lows of 5—8 degrees — that's pretty typical. then for sunday, an area of low pressure to the north of scotland, lots of isobars on the charts, not quite as many as saturday. so it's still going to be windy, not as windy, and weather fronts towards the south will enhance the shower activity. so it could be southern and western parts of england and wales seeing the heaviest of the showers through the day. some heavy, some rumbles of thunder, some hail mixed in as well, but there will be some sunshine around too.

but it's going to be a chilly day across the board, highs of 7—10 degrees in the south. monday is a little bit quieter, we are in—between weather systems. still quite blustery in the north and west. here's where we will see most of the showers — northern ireland and scotland, could be a wintry element to some of these over the high ground, as the air will be cooler on monday. highs of 5—8 degrees here, up to around 10 degrees in the south. this is a little closer to the seasonal norm. so, the weather's up and down as we head through the new week. tuesday's mild, wet, windy again. followed by some slightly cooler weather on wednesday.

this is bbc news, the headlines: there are signs that the historic deadlock in the us house of representatives could be coming to an end. the senior republican kevin mccarthy says he's confident he'll win enough votes to be elected speaker. so far, he's failed 13 times. the house has reconvened to vote for a 14th time. a six—year—old boy has shot his school teacher in the us state of virginia, in what police say was not an accidental shooting. officers have taken the boy into custody. the teacher is in hospital with what's being described as a life—threatening injury. ukraine has accused russia of continuing its offensive despite president putin announcing a 36—hour ceasefire to mark the russian orthodox christmas. ukraine never agreed to a truce and has dismissed it

as a cynical ploy by russia to resupply their forces.