after being ousted in a dramatic vote in congress. hello, i'm sally bundock. we start here in the uk and after weeks of speculation the prime minister is expected to announce later today that plans for the h52 high speed rail line, linking birmingham and manchester, will be scrapped. in his speech to the conservative party conference in manchester, rishi sunak is expected to set out alternative projects in the north of england and wales, and argue that these would be a better use of public money. our correspondent damian grammaticas has more. brushing his way through the late—night conference crowd, rishi sunak. relaxed and

silent. he has made his mind up, it is the end of h52 to manchester. this is what the pm was saying 2a hours ago. what manchester. this is what the pm was saying 24 hours ago.- was saying 24 hours ago. what i wanted it is _ was saying 24 hours ago. what i wanted it is the _ was saying 24 hours ago. what i wanted it is the right _ was saying 24 hours ago. what i wanted it is the right decision i wanted it is the right decision for the country. this is an enormous amount of people's money, taxpayer money, everybody watching, billions of pounds, we should not be rushed into things like that was what people want from me is to take time to go over it properly and make sure you make the the right long—term decision. this right long-term decision. this is what hs2 — right long-term decision. this is what hs2 was _ right long—term decision. this is what hsz was hoping to is what hs2 was hoping to change, the existing rail the north of england. what was envisaged, cleaning trains running a brand—new lines but the costs keep rising. the leg from london to birmingham is being built for the next party manchester won't. instead rishi sunak will promise a scattering of small investments probably across the north of wales. by announcing he is scrapping hs2

to manchester in manchester, rishi sunak is taking a political risk. you may be hoping the cold light of day it will be seen as a sign he is preparing to take tough decisions. and the economic benefits will be spread wider. but it may also be seen as a sign he is counting this region adrift, failing to deliver on promises made to it.- adrift, failing to deliver on promises made to it. how do you feel? outside _ promises made to it. how do you feel? outside the _ promises made to it. how do you feel? outside the tory _ feel? outside the tory conference _ feel? outside the tory conference that - feel? outside the tory conference that was i feel? outside the tory i conference that was this feel? outside the tory - conference that was this appeal coupled with a warning from manchester's mayo to rishi sunak. ., , , ., sunak. do not pull the plug on the city while _ sunak. do not pull the plug on the city while you _ sunak. do not pull the plug on the city while you were - sunak. do not pull the plug on the city while you were in - sunak. do not pull the plug on the city while you were in the l the city while you were in the city. do not pull the plug on the north of england. do not treat people here as second—class citizens when it comes to transport. when you do those things, people here will never forget. those things, people here will neverforget. aha, those things, people here will never forget.— never forget. a last-ditch attempt _ never forget. a last-ditch attempt that _ never forget. a last-ditch attempt that does - never forget. a last-ditch attempt that does not. never forget. a last-ditch i attempt that does not seem likely to change the prime minister �*s mind. the prime minister is making his speech addressing the

conservative party conference today in which these details are expected to be announced. here at bbc news, we will be life with that speech when it is delivered. later in our business coverage in about 25 minutes, will be looking at the business case for and against the extension or scrapping of h52. all that to the extension or scrapping of hs2. all that to come a little later. officials say at least 21 people have died after a bus crashed off a flyover and caught fire near the italian city of venice. two children are among the dead. the bus broke through a barrier and plunged near railway tracks in the district of mestre, which is connected to venice by a bridge. louisa pilbeam has more details. through the early hours, emergency crews battled to rescue the injured. and recover the debt. this bus had been full of tourists returning from a day out in venice. now burnt out and overturned. from high up, you can see the drop. it

plunged off this bridge and burst into flame. translation: we lifted the bus to have mathematical certainty there was no other people underneath. as you have seen, the bus flipped upside down. the impact was terrible because it fell from over ten metres. there were 39 people, it was not easy. the impact, the electric batteries of the bus caught fire. ., ., ., , batteries of the bus caught fire. «a, , batteries of the bus caught fire. «a, . , , ., fire. ukrainians, germans and french nationals _ fire. ukrainians, germans and french nationals are - fire. ukrainians, germans and french nationals are so - fire. ukrainians, germans and french nationals are so far - french nationals are so far believed to be among the dead according to italian officials. the mayor of venice was at the scene and gave an idea of the scale of casualties at the time. translation: �*i’b scale of casualties at the time. translation: " ., time. translation: 19 here, two died in hospital. _ time. translation: 19 here, two died in hospital. it _ time. translation: 19 here, two died in hospital. it is _ time. translation: 19 here, two died in hospital. it is 21 _ died in hospital. it is 21 hour. some ok and some are critical. some burn, four children died for an hour. it

happen across the water from venice's tourist centre last night. now as investigators try to find out how this happened, the italian transport minister has said the driver believed to be among the dead could have suddenly become unwell. let's go to the us. the us house of representatives is left rudderless after members voted to oust its leader, house speaker kevin mccarthy. let's take you through the main points. kevin mccarthy is the first speaker in us history ever to be removed in this way after a motion to vacate. the motion that led to his toppling was put forward by hardline republicans, led by matt gaetz, who were angered by an interim deal he'd brokered with democrats to prevent a us government shutdown. a temporary leader, patrick mchenry will step in, in a limited capacity but what happens next is uncharted waters.

doing the right thing isn't always easy but it is necessary. i do not regret standing up for choosing government over grievance. it is my responsibility, it is my job. i do not regret negotiating. our government is designed to find compromise. i do not regret my efforts to build coalitions and find solutions. i was raised to solve problems, not create them. i may have lost the vote today but as i walked out of this chamber, ifeel today but as i walked out of this chamber, i feel fortunate to have served the american people. i leave the speakership with a sense of pride, accomplishment and optimism. republicans will not meet again until next week to sort out who will become the next speaker. kevin mccarthy said he will not run again, blaming those in his conference who voted

against him for creating turmoil in washington. other republican lawmakers are angry at the eight members of his party who voted to oust mccarthy. after the vote, republican don bacon said matt gaetz should be thrown out of the republican party. it isa it is a boat for chaos. we have so many important issues we have to decide on right now. appropriation bills, fire bell, defence bill, broken border right now and all that is going on hold. i think it weakens america and it is a good day if you are a russian government quy you are a russian government guy or chinese communist. they are probably smiling, giving high—fives to matt gaetz. one of the eight members of the republican party who voted to oust mccarthy, is congressman ken buck of colorado. he told us why he defended his vote. i will put my conservative record of voting up against anybody, particularly from someone from california like speaker mccarthy or some of the other critics who have

criticised me from new york. i believe that we're spending too much money in this country. i could believe it is an existential threat to the country. i believe that we need to in this point of time make sure we are doing the right thing and spending responsibly and that is why voted the way i did. live now to professor of political science at the university of california berkley, sean gailmard. let's get your reaction to all this. . , ., ., , this. really astonishing scenario. _ this. really astonishing scenario. i— this. really astonishing scenario. i cannot - this. really astonishing scenario. i cannot even| this. really astonishing i scenario. i cannot even it this. really astonishing - scenario. i cannot even it as long as a decade or two ago. uncharted territory and unclear what comes next.— uncharted territory and unclear what comes next. that is what i was going _ what comes next. that is what i was going to — what comes next. that is what i was going to ask— what comes next. that is what i was going to ask you, _ what comes next. that is what i was going to ask you, what - what comes next. that is what i was going to ask you, what is l was going to ask you, what is likely to happen next? the interim house speaker has very limited capacity and yet it is a critical time. we could be facing another government shutdown within weeks. the bud . et shutdown within weeks. the budget deal _ shutdown within weeks. the budget deal the _ shutdown within weeks. tue: budget deal the republicans

agreed to that he has representatives put forward approved by the senate of the present, which is what precipitated this crisis of leadership in the house, will only get us through mid—november. we're going to be in exactly the same position six weeks time. it is representative mchenry that has limited powers to administer the business and and nuts and bolts of the house but not to forge the political leadership, political agreements necessary to lead the party forward. by the republican party does remains to be seen but the problem is there is so much internalfragmentation problem is there is so much internal fragmentation within the party that that is the situation they created this perverse ——in the first place. it is a structural problem within the republican party. there are at least eight members that do not particularly mind if the government shutdown and don't

particularly mind if there was a failure of government. and thatis a failure of government. and that is an unprecedented situation. that creates a real problem for the house of representatives and for the governor going forward. who representatives and for the governor going forward. who are --eole governor going forward. who are peeple talk _ governor going forward. who are people talk about _ governor going forward. who are people talk about that _ governor going forward. who are people talk about that could - people talk about that could replace kevin mccarthy at this point? who are the frontrunners? tt point? who are the frontrunners?- point? who are the frontrunners? , . ., frontrunners? it is unclear. i have heard _ frontrunners? it is unclear. i have heard from _ frontrunners? it is unclear. i have heard from three - frontrunners? it is unclear. i. have heard from three different republican congressmen today named three different people. it is important to recognise the vast majority of republican leadership �*s support mccarthy and the motion to vacate. is likely will establish a republican candidate. a number of names have been throwing out. maybe a list of attic from new york. congressmen broke quarter specifically states they were from, california, new york, it is unclear at a broad symbolic level that people from

these places can remove the conservative leadership going forward. there are some surprises of people that are interested in the position but unwilling to declare their interest as long as mccarthy pulled back vote and speakership were still being decided. now that motion to vacate has passed, we might see new candidates come forward. for our global audience, new candidates come forward. for our globalaudience, remind us how important this role is. the speaker of the house is an absolutely crucial role in managing the business of the house of representatives. that is the presiding officer of the house, that person officially has to schedule or more business, all chamber business in the house of representatives. has to officially sign laws passed by the chamber to send them to the senate book and a recession from a consideration or president, has to arrange conference committees with the senate when the two chambers disagree on laws. there is a crucial site of admin

obligations that are rolled up into this position was also a really important political position. the house of representatives, the speaker is invariably the leader within the chamber of the majority political party. they identify the parties political agenda, they help to make compromises and find agreements within their party, they help to drive their party, they help to drive the party forward in the interest of the party and standing forward to the next election. both and administration office and political office merges those two powers into one person and thatis two powers into one person and that is why such an important position. that is why such an important osition. . ., that is why such an important osition. ., ~ , ., that is why such an important osition. . ~' ~ position. thank you. we appreciate _ position. thank you. we appreciate your - position. thank you. we appreciate your analysis| position. thank you. we i appreciate your analysis on that. staying in the us, and the government has announced sanctions on more than 20 individuals and entities based in china, which make and distribute compounds later used in illegal drugs. they include ingredients for fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that's has been blamed for tens of thousands of recent deaths. our north america correspondent peter bowes in los angeles.

this is, indeed, an attempt to clamp down on what is called the precursor chemicals, the raw ingredients that go into making fenta nyl. the synthetic opioid that is so deadly. it is responsible for killing tens of thousands of people in the united states alone every year. according to thejustice department here it is chinese companies that are responsible for making these precursor chemicals that then find their way into the fentanyl compound, which is, again, then used by mexican drug cartels as part of their operation getting drugs into the united states. so there is a global chain, if you like, a chain that starts in china, and that's why thejustice department has announced this clamp down in terms of indictments and sanctions against those companies. and those sanctions mean they will essentially be cut off from the us

financial system. and that means in turn that anyone in this country doing any kind of business with those entities will be breaking the law, and would themselves find themselves at the end of a lawsuit. so this is a us wide, but you can see it more globally in the terms of its likely impact. receiving news the us as well. police in the city of baltimore say that multiple people have been shot at morgan state university. local media is reporting that at least four people were injured, but that the conditions of the gunshot victims were not immediately known. law enforcement responded to an active shooter situation on campus on tuesday evening. the local affiliate of our us media partner cbs news says the gunshots came from a dorm room window. school officials have asked people to stay away from the area and shelter in place. around the world

and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. new analysis shows petrol and diesel prices surged last month as the rising cost of oil hit drivers at the pumps. figures from the motoring firm rac show a litre of petrol jumped by an average of 4.5 pence, while diesel was up 8 pence, the fifth—largest monthly rise since 2000. consultants and junior doctors in england are entering the final day of their strike across the nhs. the 72—hour walkout was part of a pay dispute. radiographers will end a 24—hour walkout at 8:00. the government is paying the highest amount of interest in 20 years on its national debt and it's set to increase as the cost of borrowing rises. it currently owes about £2.59 trillion, but will need to find

another 23 billion to cover the interest, money that will likely have to be taken away from public services. you're live with bbc news. nato's most senior military official has warned that ukraine's western allies are running out of ammunition to give to kyiv to fight russia. admiral rob bauer told a security forum in warsaw that —as he put it— the "bottom of the barrel" was visible. he's called on the arms industry to ramp up production considerably. britain has also echoed similar concerns. its ministerfor the armed forces, james heappey, described stockpiles as "a bit thin". he urged all nato members, ata minimum, to meet a commitment to spend 2% of their gdp on defence. ukraine currently depends on nato for the majority of its current ammunition stockpile. the uk defence ministry says it has given more than 300,000 rounds of ammunition to ukraine

while the us state department says it has given more than two million since the war began. earlier, my colleague, caitriona perry, spoke to former us secretary of defense bob gates. mr secretary, thank you very much forjoining us. when you look at what some would call the chaos we are seeing in congress today and over the past weekend, what impact does that have on the perception of us leadership abroad? i think it has a very negative impact. it basically calls into question the constancy of american commitments, whether we are prepared to — be in support of ukraine for the long haul, but, more broadly, can the government govern? can we do something as simple as get a budget? and, clearly, that is being called into question. you have been writing

in foreign affairs about how this sort of dysfunction renders the us uncapable of delivering a strong and coherent response to threats. when we look at perhaps the situation in ukraine, regarding russia, we look at china as well, and then we see that the only way for congress to be able to keep the government open is to remove that funding from ukraine from a temporary bill. how is that received? i think it does send a signal that it is going to be very difficult to get additional assistance for ukraine and, again, the whole question of whether the united states can be counted on to fulfil its commitments. the president says we will be in support of ukraine for as long as it takes, but that requires more appropriations by congress. now, i think that you will see an effort, significant effort, to include money for ukraine in whatever next appropriations or continuing

resolution actions are taken by the congress, but i have heard some republican senators say that there is probably only support for one more large commitment of assistance to ukraine. that they do not want to do this, even those who are supportive of ukraine do not want to go through this legislative battle every quarter. i think the likelihood of another big aid package is very real, and i think the likelihood of it being passed is quite strong, but the question then is — what happens next year? critics of supporting this ukraine funding would say, you know, they'd question why sending $24 billion to ukraine when so much needs to be fixed domestically. how did the congress, the politicians, the president better sell that idea to americans? well, to use an old american expression, we need to be able to show that we can walk and chew gum

at the same time, that we can meet our international commitments that protect our security and our interests, at the same time we deal with domestic issues, whether it is the border, the budget or anything else. and, frankly, the notion that i have heard of my life people make the argument, well, why should we invest in the space programme, why should we invest in defence when we have so many problems here at home? the reality is a country as big and wealthy and as engaged in as many areas as the us has to be able to do both, and i think the argument is that if you back away from ukraine and demonstrate that the united states will not fulfil its commitments, that has profound consequences for our security and probably for our prosperity going forward. and on that note, what is your view of ukraine's chances of a victory against russia? the counteroffensive has clearly gone slower than the ukrainians expected. the russian defences

have been more sophisticated and deeper i think than had been expected. i think they are making slow progress and they say they will continue to fight through the winter, although that makes the use of heavy equipment much more difficult because of mud and so on. i think that the objective of the counteroffensive, at least initially, should be breaking through the russian defences and getting to the town of melitopol. that would break the russian land bridge to crimea and also give the ukrainians access to the sea of azov. that might be the opportunity for some kind of negotiation at that point, but i think that is still going to be a heavy lift for the counteroffensive because that's probably another 50 miles beyond where they are now, and it has been very tough going, but they have been making some progress. we are out of time for today but thank you so much for

joining us. but thank you so much for joining us— but thank you so much for joining us-_ i i but thank you so much for- joining us._ i have joining us. my pleasure. i have still not joining us. my pleasure. i have still got time, _ joining us. my pleasure. i have still got time, though, - joining us. my pleasure. i have still got time, though, so - still got time, though, so don't go anywhere. i still have to tell you... there'll be no services today on large parts of britain's rail network as train drivers stage a 24—hour strike. the aslef union says many of its members haven't had a pay rise for more than four years. operators say they've offered increases worth 8% over two years, but insist working practices also need to change. business reporter ben king has more. this is the 38th day of strikes on britain's railways in the current round of disputes began last summer, and the 14th by members of aslef union, bringing disruption to much of england's railways and some rail lines serving scotland and wales. the majority of affected operators are running no service at all today, including avante west service at all today, including ava nte west coast, cross—country, northern and trans— pennine express. with severely reduced services on

others, including great western, l ner and southern. there is an increased risk of disruption on thursday and friday as well from a aslef union overtime band, prominent, the prime minister's speech to conservative party conference in manchester. taste conservative party conference in manchester.— conservative party conference in manchester. we have chosen strike during — in manchester. we have chosen strike during this _ in manchester. we have chosen strike during this conference i strike during this conference because for 16 months they have been lying about us targeting various things that we haven't so we have chosen to target people who are targeting us and it is no coincidence at all. we are raising the profile and we want that. are raising the profile and we want that-— want that. the unions at its members — want that. the unions at its members haven't _ want that. the unions at its members haven't had i want that. the unions at its members haven't had a i want that. the unions at its members haven't had a pay want that. the unions at its i members haven't had a pay rise for over four years, members haven't had a pay rise for overfouryears, but for over four years, but train operators say they can't afford to give them a pay rise unless working practices change. there is an offer _ working practices change. there is an offer on — working practices change. there is an offer on the _ working practices change. there is an offer on the table, - working practices change. there is an offer on the table, and i is an offer on the table, and that would give the average train driver a salary of £65,000 a year or a four—day week. we think that is than fair and reasonable, but aslef won't even consider it because we are tying it to the kind of reforms that we believe are

necessary to fund it. the transport _ necessary to fund it. the transport secretary i necessary to fund it. the transport secretary mike harper has urged aslef to put the offer to its members and the industrial action. at the prospect of a deal anytime soon seems remote. with a growing chance of strikes affecting the christmas period and into the new year. ben king, bbc news. now, let's bring you an inspiring story. she left her walker on the ground, and off she went and made the 13,500—foot tandem jump. born and raised in chicago, dorothy hoffner, now a spirited 104—year—old, has achieved a remarkable feat by becoming the oldest person in the world to tandem skydive from an aeroplane. she has surpassed the previous guinness world record set by linnea ingegard larsson from sweden, who completed the tandem jump at the age of 103. the organisers from skydive chicago, who facilitated dorothy's jump, are working now to have her extraordinary accomplishment officially recognised by guinness world records.

this is what dorothy had to say just second after the jump. 0h, goodness. back on the ground. safe and sound. that was amazing. wonderful, so wonderful. a wonderful trip. awesome job up there, dorothy. what an amazing achievement at 104?! it was quite incredible. we have the top business stories next, of course we are looking at hs2, the announcement expected today from the prime minister. i will see you in a moment. hello there. we're now all into some fresher feeling air. but temperatures are still a little above the average for this time of year. tuesday was rather blustery with sunshine and showers for most of the uk. there will be some more rain in the forecast as we head through the week, but it's mostly out towards the north and the west. the further south and east you are, the drier your week

is likely to be, and then things will be turning warmer, some more autumn warmth for most as we head into the weekend. now, on wednesday, as you can see, we've got rain out towards parts of western scotland, across northern ireland too, driven in by this area of low pressure. so it's a wet start to the day here, further south across england and wales, lots of clear skies throughout the night. so a chillier start to the morning than we've been used to of late and still rather breezy with a brisk westerly wind. now, it's across western areas of scotland, the west highlands, argyll and bute. there are some localised weather warnings in force, some of this rain likely to pep up at times. it curls around across to northeastern scotland, up towards the northern isles, and then our front sinks southwards across northern ireland, the borders, into northern england perhaps as we head through the afternoon. bright skies to the north of the weather front with a few showers around, the sunniest skies across england and wales, a few isolated showers out towards the west. temperatures again in the mid to the high teens with a brisk westerly wind blowing. now, we don't have to wait for too long before the next low—pressure system pushes some more fronts our way. and they're going to arrive as we head through

thursday morning. so some further outbreaks of rain, quite saturated ground by now out towards southwestern areas of scotland. the warnings extending further north as we head towards the end of the week. some spells of rain too for northern ireland. a lot of cloud being thrown towards eastern areas, the best of any brightness towards the southeast of england. temperatures once again in the mid to the high teens in celsius. now, as we head through friday, you'll notice that these weather fronts are starting to curl more round towards the north and the west, being driven away by the high pressure building in from europe. and that is going to keep us largely dry throughout the weekend. and there will be a lot of sunshine around. as you can see with that now southerly wind, we start to see the warmer air feed through and the temperatures rise, particularly for england and wales. so it will be feeling warmer over the weekend. temperatures up to 26 celsius in southeast england on sunday, low to the mid 20s across much of wales, low 20s for northern ireland, perhaps a little cooler and wetter for scotland. bye— bye.

live from london, this is bbc news. it's the end of the track for hs2. prime minister rishi sunak is to scrap the high—speed rail line from the west midlands to manchester, but business leaders criticise the move. plus, the crypto wunderkid heads to court. sam bankman—fried faces trial in new york for fraud.

but will the case change the way crypto is regulated in the us? and doing a little turn on the catwalk. we'll tell you why a—list mega influencers are dominating the paris fashion week. i'm sally bundock here with the top business stories. let's start here in the uk, where rishi sunak is set to announce the scrapping of the hs2 high—speed rail line from west midlands to manchester during his conservative party conference speech later today. rumours it could be scrapped have already prompted anger among local leaders and businesses. however, there had been concerns about the mounting costs, with the latest estimates for the project totalling some £71 billion.

at least £22.5 billion has already been spent building