this is bbc news, the headlines: alec baldwin has been formally charged with involuntary manslaughter after the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a film set. in 2021, halyna hutchins was shot in new mexico during a filming rehearsal of the movie rust. the film's armourer, hannah gutierrez—reed, also faces charges. the white house has expressed outrage over the record annual profits of us oil giant exxonmobil. in 2022, the company gained $55 billion, driven by soaring prices caused by the war in ukraine. the biden administration says the business chose the profits over easing customers�* burden. newly elected republican congressman george santos will step down from

committees in the us house of representatives. mr santos has faced calls to resign for repeatedly lying about his family background and work experience. he will however continue to participate in proceedings on the floor of the house. now on bbc news, new hope in hard times: fighting the cost—of—living crisis. you want a piggyback? are you going to be superman, are you? nobody can afford to keep up with anything. i don't know how i'll cope, i really don't. it's autumn 2022, and anita's got troubles. troubles from every direction. absolutely shattered. i'm constantlyjust lying in bed and just thinking about how am i going to pay this? how am i going to pay that? i'm trying to make you a den. money is beyond tight. try that, brett. for little brett and his two older sisters, the outside world can feel scary. there's a monster out there.

what monster? a huge one. a huge one? oh my goodness. for his mum, the monsters are getting real. i've always managed with the money i get, me benefits and the money that i earn from work. i've alwaysjust managed to manage, but ijust can't do it at the minute. it's the gas, the electricity, the bills, and then the cost of the food that went up. how are you supposed to live, man? bottom line, anita's working. she's got a family. she's got no money. do you want some to eat, sweetheart? this is the first time i've actually had to say, can you help us? tough times. but as we'll see, there's also hope and help. there's a lot to go through today. in a cold church in benwell, carole rowland is on the mic. it's worry and fear. anything that worries you, anything you're fearful of,

please come and talk to us. if the cost of living crisis is a national crisis, the response here in newcastle's west end is local. the other things that we've got are more kiddies coats, which is fantastic. this place started years ago as a food bank, but it's had to change, adapt and expand to become a community hub to keep up in these hard times. used to be that people don't have sufficient food to eat. we can help them with that. it's now that they don't have enough fuel. they don't have heat. our fear here at our food bank is that people may die. it's getting a bit colder. it is slightly. so it is food and help with fuel. but we're here to see much more than that. there you go. of course, pat's work, handing out vouchers for access to the food bank, is crucial. oh, thank you.

but then there's courtney. how much do you spend on public transport? i don't because i can't afford to. a benefits wizard who's here to give priceless advice. we're definitely getting all the details that we need, good lass. fantastic. then there's dara, a kurdish refugee who's always here, always smiling, always helping. the main thing that we can help you with is making sure you have food. i need support as well. and they are all driven people, like helen, who's a volunteer. you see me around in benwell, just say hello. people who are at their wit�*s end about how to cope. she wants and needs to help. i see struggle. i see embarrassment. i see guilt. i see shame. i see joy at small things.

it's november, and anita has come in for food. get your coat on, sweetie. no judgement, no stigma. just food and a friendly face. volunteer iordanis has developed a special bond with little brett. you did an amazing job. you've helped me so much, and i wouldn't be able to do it without your help. high five. unless you want to give me a hug. i mean, iwill. i love a hug. brilliant. i don't know how to cope. i really don't. i do need it. that's the top and bottom of it. and i feel embarrassed because i've got to ask for help. to be fair, i would have probably been worn out asking people to borrow money. thank you ever so much. thank you. for anita's family and so many others across her community, carole�*s team are life—savers. oh, that's a rice. but in this crisis, there are no easy answers and no quick fixes. lost quite a lot of weight

in the last year and a bit, just not being able to live, to be fair. i'd rather my children eat their meat. i might have a meal a day if i'm lucky. in the end, of course, it's down to money. her ex makes some modest payments for the kids, and anita's always worked. she still does. get off me leg! but she's also a single mum and has to fit her cleaning shifts around brett's childcare. the problems don't stop there. i don't receive, like, any sort of benefits for little man because he was born after that time period where they said you couldn't. it's a cut—off point. and that's because brett was born after 2017 when the rules changed for families with three or more children. so i only get money for the two girls. so we're literally living off that. and it'sjust, it's craziness. i don't know how they've come up with these calculations and how they expect people to live. it's called great britain for a reason, and it's not great britain any more.

are they ready to come in? oh, yes, get them in now. passion. it's absolute passion. passion. take your time. carole believes in this and that the team is making a difference. will i hang on to him until you've packed your bag? she's the lynchpin of this place. never stops. i haven't got enough winter coats. but when they go, they go. always fighting for the people, for the community. we're not having anybody missing christmas. a lot of the work here is connecting people in need to the benefits and grants that they are entitled to, to untangle the complexities of the welfare system. and it's working. the team have now claimed over £1,000,000 in benefits for the people they serve. don't sit in silence. we can now help you with fuel, and that's really the first proper time we've ever been able to do that. so please, please. yes, there is some money here from central government. many have had cost of living payments totalling £650. and it's all welcome.

you've got to have an interview before you get the vouchers. it's busy, getting busier all the time. in december, they gave out more food parcels than ever. go along now, it's 1:00 at the place. but everyone here knows that this is a sticking plaster, not a long term fix. it is actually simple, not saying never—ending benefits. it's about giving people enough to live on so that they can start and make some choices. for dean, the choices are limited. they say your life expectancy is about 45 years. i'm 37. his heart condition is terminal. carole knows me so well. and she's like, you've lost a lot of weight. and i go, yeah. he weighs seven and a half stone. go and have a word with paul, he's the person. that's lovely. thank you so much. carole wants dean to check that he's getting all of the benefits that he can. how are you? oh, well, getting there.

so how would you mark your general well—being at the moment? i would say zero. and what conditions is it that you have? oh, gosh, i have congenital heart disease, i have unstable angina. and the last one is marfan syndrome. despite all of that, somehow dean doesn't qualify for pip or personal independence payment. have you considered claiming pip? have you tried? i have. i scored zero. would you consider putting in another claim for that now? i can see that it's tough for dean. his failing health means hospital treatment, usually several times a week. thank you so much. thank you. dean's mum, denise, is by his side. he's on powerful painkillers and needs all the support he can get. i worked from being in school. i was up until a few years ago when my health really deteriorated. i was, i want to work. i can't lift, i can't carry. i can't do anything. are you dependent on this place? yeah, absolutely. there are plenty of

people struggling here. but dean's life, it just feels so hard. you're all right. all you want for people is to have some dignity, you know? 0h, are you okay? that's a tough story. despite it all, this hub isn't about misery. it's about help. just a thank you goes a long way. and i do appreciate the work you've done for me. you're welcome. the work never stops. teresa is here to check that all of her benefits are up to date. how much are you paying for gas? £350 for the gas and electric. basically, it's living hand—to—mouth. it's so cold, brett. winter's here. anita and the kids have all been ill. i'm exhausted with it. absolutely exhausted. she's on the way to the food bank. the food bank that she was donating to just a year ago.

i think my hands are just starting to get the feeling back in my fingertips. it's been weeks since we've seen her and brett, and she's changed. thinner. colder. i couldn't put the heating on at all, last week. it was so cold. ijust couldn't put it on. just didn't have enough. had to keep what money i had, so the girls could have, like, showers or their bath in the school. it's surviving. and it's embarrassing because i work and i should be providing for my children. right now, even the hunger takes second place. today, it's all about the cold. that's a good idea. shall we just stay here today? she will let us sit inside the nursery and get us a cup of tea till i had to go and get me other little girl from school. oh, that's lovely. is your hands warm now?

your hands are cold. my hands are cold. all i feel like i've done for weeks is cry and cry. just feel like such a let—down all the time. do you know what i mean? should be able to provide for these, at least a warm home... what would you like? ijust want to have more fun. brett's desperate to team up with iordanis again. he's made to feel welcome and included. at its best, this place can feel like family. i feel good. at the end of the day, . i feel like i did something good to help. and he is a lovely boy, he's very clever. - i think you can tell that. i'll give you some eggs as well. - iordanis doesn't have to be here, he's an international it consultant, but his silicon valley employers encourage this sort of volunteering. this is some fish. you can have that. and he's happy to be here.

the very first few times, - i was very upset when i went home. i've got four kids, so i spoke to my kids and my wife - and i said, "look, you know, you don't know how lucky- we are." that'll keep your strength up. it's been a tough week for anita. i'm going to have a piece of this orange. i've had no breakfast. as well as struggling with the cold, she's also struggling with the benefits system. apparently, i'm not meeting government criteria. i'm supposed to make £491 a month and i'm only making £456. the issue is that she's been told that she needs to get her wages up by £35 a month or lose benefits. the trouble with that is it's hard to do more hours with no more free childcare and she feels stuck. i've only had to claim benefits, i'd say, the last year and a half. since me and my partner separated. i've never claimed benefits, i've worked since i was 16. i've never not worked. don't worry, when you sit down with courtney in welfare, right, we'll go through this.

we'll contact them on your behalf. i'm trying to do my best, and they're just not getting it. i'm a mess! it'sjust horrific. that woman, this time last year, was actually giving us food. she was donating to us. she is doing everything she possibly can. and it'sjust not good enough. for somebody. it's good enough for me. it's good enough for her family, who know that she's doing everything she possibly can. my worry now is her mental health because she is on the edge. the level of need here is high and rising. it can feel overwhelming. but so can the response of this community, local people helping their own. thank you. good to see you, in again this week! with your bag — my goodness! joan is a benwell lass, a benwell legend.

to take it up over £200. oh, my goodness. and that's how much you spend, isn't it? despite all the kindness and support, there's no hiding the fact that this is also a place where too many people are feeling desperate. what would they do without it? i would have give up by now, to be fair. and i would have. aye, i would have give up. sorry. i don't like talking like that — i shouldn't feel like that. newcastle's west end is a strong, multi—ethnic community. it has a recent history of regeneration, some new housing, community investment, but the old problems are still evident. this is among the most deprived places in a region where child poverty is the highest in the uk. i'm around at theresa's. hi, theresa.

how are you? i want to know more about the real impact of the cost of living crisis. it's meant a lot to you, hasn't it? the help you get there. it really has. yeah. because i was stuck with the stress and the anxiety of "where will i go? "what will i do?" and i'm talking to nobody, because you'rejudged. i felt in the food bank, i wasn'tjudged. courtney and carole both said, "look, you can call me. "you can talk and we can help." teresa's single and lives with her autistic granddaughter. the food bank and the community hub keep this family afloat. it's no good being proud. proud is not going to feed you. it's not going to help me to get the stuff i need for my home or my bairn. without help, you're stuck in a situation where your mental health does deteriorate quicker. something's got to give. let's hope so. it'll not be me! it won't be you! it'll not be me. i'll be in my corner, fighting.

to stock a food bank, you need food. and rising prices mean some people here can't afford to donate any more. basics pasta means you can get more of it. but remember, joan? well, she's still down the supermarket, shopping for others. how are you paying for all of this? where do you get your money from? well, out of my own money. i'm retired and i have a reasonable pension. you're at the heart of your own community and these are your people, really. i belong to a church in the west end, so that's a motivation to me. many hands make light work. i feel that i want to support the people who are in great need as much as i can. carole�*s called us. there's something she says we need to see. are we coming in? of course you are! right. in we go. and she's right. if you want to know what deprivation looks like, how about this? have you seen worse than this?

this is the worst that we've dealt with. this place is off the scale. huge amount of mould. the damp�*s grown up, all of the walls. courtney and carole are here to help a woman who's been living — existing — here with her two dogs, like this, for two years. she's got asthma. she's got copd. she's got pleurisy at the minute because of the damp. and the state of this place. so she can actually speak to her upstairs neighbour. oh, really? while she's in the bath. as you can see, we've got no ceiling. so, she's not been able to use a bath or a bathroom for over two yea rs now. with support from the hub, the tenant has been offered a new place in a new build. but there's a problem — no dogs allowed. if you're living on your own, that's your family, isn't it? definitely. and she's had to give that up. for almost 15 years. they're like her children, the only family really that she's had, and she's had to give them up, just to be in a safe,

comfortable home. the lady from the rspca is here and she'll be taking bronson, hoping to find him a new home. and little muffin — well, it's carole, once again, to the rescue. and you're still going to come up, aren't you, and see her? yeah. muffin will be welcomed into carole�*s family home. it's december now and it's getting seriously cold, frigid. there's three elves on one shelf. the one in the tree. uh-huh. for anita, this time is all about christmas, about using every ounce of energy, every last penny, to make it special for the children. how are you feeling, going into the christmas period? i'm positive now, compared to what i was, like, six, seven weeks ago. i was beside myself six or seven weeks ago. like, i don't know how i'm going to manage,

how i'm going to cope. her plans are modest, nothing fancy, but so hard to deliver in this bleak midwinter. i was, like — because i love having them sat down and a properfamily meal, and ijust think it would be lovely this year, just to have that. regardless of anything else, just sitting as a family would be lovely. i'm really hoping, just for those few hours, that you can put all of this out of your head and just... it'd be lovely to stop. ..concentrate on that. i'm an overthinker. # you better watch out! is that your favourite song? family time. absolutely. it's the children and it's normality and it's just keeping that normality for them. i like yourjumper, by the way. thank you. very festive! i've had it about six years. it's st james�*s church which is at the centre of operations for the community hub. we need to fundraise some money for her, then we will do that.

the vicar, chris, knows benwell�*s reputation. he knows that some regard the situation as hopeless. but not him. people have real hope, they have real love in them and the way that i've seen people come together in crisis — the crisis shouldn't be happening, they shouldn't have to come together under those circumstances but when they do, this incredible thing happens. you know, i've never seen anything like it. now, i am three years volunteer in food bank. of all the people i've met here, maybe it's dara who will stay with me the longest. i am finished accounting in my country but in here, no have anyjob because no have any paper. he's been here for three years. number 79, please. a kurdish christian refugee escaping the murderous violence of northern iraq. i'm so sorry because i'm no speaking english very well. he's happy to be here. yes, please.

i no need money, i need life. this country is very safe. after this — this country is very good for all people because help me. dara doesn't ask for much. as an asylum seeker, he certainly doesn't get much. he's got his wife and two sons. his eldest, hani, is at school. hani is lovely, lovely boy. thank you for all teacher hani because hani is now speaking english — geordie! chuckles. one thing i've noticed about you, or two things — number one, you're so smart, your clothes are always perfect. yes, all second—hand. me, my wife and my son. and number two, you're always smiling. thank you so much. it feels like dara's always here. he's so grateful to the country that's taken him in, but can't escape the cost of living crisis — the cost of baby milk for little yani. are you finding it hard

to pay for what you need? so, about that... because... before, it's often cheaper. now is very expensive. you worried? you can... no, thank you. can i just say that you're an amazing person because when we come, you're always smiling and you always do for everybody else. thank you so much. sorry about that. no, don't be sorry. because i'm worried about this baby. your baby, yeah. what a hero. what a special, special person. that's somebody who has lost everything. in circumstances you can't even imagine. he's come here. can't get a job because of his paperwork.

and yet, comes here — this cold, old church — just to help people in newcastle who are struggling with the cost of living, and it's so selfless. and it's a really moving, beautiful thing. laughter. too many. into the new year, i'm back to catch up with anita. last time i saw you, you were looking forward to christmas, wondering how it's going to work out. how did it work out? brilliant. been wonderful to give them the stuff that i was never able to give them. just before christmas, we featured part of anita's story on bbc news. the reaction from viewers was amazing. the generosity made a big difference. did you have that meal around the table that you were talking about? yes, and i had me hat on. we all had christmas hats on. it was wonderful. lovely.

thanks to everybody, the generosity and just everybody. it's been overwhelming how kind, like, people have been. ijust couldn't believe it. got a new washing machine? idid. and a microwave! it's such great news that with a bit of cash, anita's doing a bit better, but she knows it's temporary. she's still having problems with benefits. she still looks really worried. it's like i said to the children — it's nice to have what we've had, but it is going to run out and it is going to stop and we're going to be back to where we were, where we're going to be struggling. give us more free childcare and i'll do as many hours as you want us to. what are you hoping for then? ijust want them to be happy and safe and be able to keep warm and food in their tummies. it's all i want. it's been a cold, hard winter, but at least spring is coming.

for carole and the entire team here, the work goes on. there is so much need, yet there is so much hope. people who come to us, they're just like you, they're like me, they're like anybody out there. people now regard food banks as a way of life. that should never be. this is not a solution. they need people to listen to them — this is the key. don't think they're all thick. don't think they haven't got a voice. they have got a voice. the trouble is they need to be heard. the problems of benwell are the problems of a nation. yes, it's tough, but as we've seen here, as well as deprivation, there is spirit, a determination to fight back, a belief that things can and will get better. details of organisations offering help and support with some of the issues raised in this programme are available at:

hello there. on tuesday, most of us did see some sunshine, but there were certainly quite a few showers across the northwest of the country and, generally for northern areas, it started to get quite windy through the afternoon, and those stronger winds were all tied in with this area of low pressure that's over the next few hours will be crossing around about the faroes. but there will be some very strong winds just buffeting northern scotland. now, so far, the strongest wind gust i've seen is south uist, 76 mile an hour gusts here. but the winds will probably pick up a little bit further across 0rkney and shetland where we could see gusts of around 70,

maybe even 80 miles an hourfor a time over the next few hours. so certainly very, very blowy conditions for northern scotland with those severe gales and with that comes the prospect of some localised transport disruption. so, bear that in mind. now away from those very strong winds just running across northern scotland, we also have plenty of showers for northern ireland, a few for the north west of england and wales, but drier weather further south, because it's quite windy though, it's not that cold a start to the day as we head into the first part of wednesday. frost free for most with temperatures around three to five degrees. now for wednesday's charts, that area of low pressure is going to be weakening and moving over towards norway. what follows is quite a gusty flow of north westerly winds and a warm front that's going to make its presence felt across northern ireland, the north west of england and wales and south west scotland. it's across these areas where the weather's going to turn damp, some sunshine for northeast scotland and the cloud probably will break to the east of wales,

across the midlands, east anglia and southern counts of england. wherever you are, we're looking at a mild day with temperatures quite widely between nine and 11 degrees. now for thursday, we've got more rain on the way. this time across scotland, for the most part, the rain quite heavy. further southwards, i think you'll notice the cloud tending to build in from the west, but there'll still be probably a few cloud breaks coming along. so, still a little bit of sunshine. the best of that likely across parts of central and eastern england. temperatures on the mild side reaching a high of 13 degrees or so. and really through the rest of the week, high pressure stays to the south of the uk. we continue to get this feed of mild air in until we get to the weekend, where things start to get a little bit cooler. so, temperatures over the next few days will stay into double figures before we start to see that cooler but sunnier weather arriving into the weekend.

this is bbc news. i'm rich preston, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk, and around the world. alec baldwin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting on a film set in 2021. the white house has expressed outrage over the record annual profit made by the us oil giant, exxonmobil. the us department ofjustice has charged four men in connection with the assassination of haiti's president, jovenel moise. republican congressman george santos is to step down from committees in the house, after several calls to resign for repeatedly lying about his family background and work experience. and — welcome to liverpool — eurovision arrives for its official launch, as the city that brought us the beatles stands in for ukraine.