sweeps the country. some communities could experience the heaviest snowfall and coldest temperatures in more than a decade. a state of emergency has been declared in six states — west virginia, kentucky, virginia, kansas, arkansas and missouri. in kansas, the usual average low temperature at this time of year is minus 6 degrees celsius — now it's expected to fall to minus 29 degrees. in kentucky, the average low is minus 3 degrees, but it's expected to be as low as minus 16. these are pictures from missouri — one of those states under an emergency. snow, ice and plunging temperatures have affected the roads while air travel has also been hit. more than 5,000 flights across the us have so far been cancelled, according to flight tracking website flightaware. joining me live now is ben noll. he's a weather, climate, and meteorology reporter for the washington post, who's been tracking the winter storm.

good to have you with us. in the midwest talk of a white out, how bad could it be? we have had _ out, how bad could it be? we have had a — out, how bad could it be? we have had a lot _ out, how bad could it be? - have had a lot of snow fall in states like kansas and missouri a foot and a half of snow. 0ver a foot and a half of snow. over 30 centimetres of snow, it is blowing around, the wind is gusting quite high, we could be looking at when gusting in excess of a0 miles an hour. the snow is making whiteout conditions that is what it is very dangerous to travel across several state tonight it will be ending overnight in the cold temperatures for areas that have lost ours, tens of thousands of outages across the midwestern parts of the deep south as they dealt with thunderstorms, that is all spreading east on monday it will be one of the biggest storms in the nation �*s capital for several years since 2022 if not 2019, up to ten inches of snow possible on monday. where is the weather

coming from? we could be seeing the heavy snowfall for a decade in some parts, there is that storm weather coming from? in order to net a weather coming from? in order to get a big _ weather coming from? in order to get a big storm _ weather coming from? in order to get a big storm you - weather coming from? in order to get a big storm you need - weather coming from? in order to get a big storm you need a l to get a big storm you need a big clash of temperatures in this case we have an arctic air mass dropping down from canada, it is clashing with a very warm air mass over the southern united states, in fact the record warm waters and the gulf of mexico may be contributing to the intensity of the storm and dynamics as it develops and goes east. mother nature in that temperature contrast area which is right across the nation �*s midsection is drawing up nation �*s midsection is drawing up quite an intense storm, thunderstorms and maybe a tornado. ~ ., ,, ., thunderstorms and maybe a tornado. ~ . ,, ., ., thunderstorms and maybe a tornado. ~ . , , ., ., ., tornado. we appeared to have 'ust lost tornado. we appeared to have just lost the — tornado. we appeared to have just lost the line _ tornado. we appeared to have just lost the line there - tornado. we appeared to have just lost the line there with i just lost the line there with ben but i will try once again. then if you can hear us, in those places where there has been a state of emergency declared if you can hear us

what should people be doing to prepare? figs what should people be doing to --reare? �* , ., what should people be doing to --reare? r ., ., prepare? as we go into monday with the risk— prepare? as we go into monday with the risk of _ prepare? as we go into monday with the risk of heavy _ prepare? as we go into monday with the risk of heavy snow - with the risk of heavy snow spreading eastward to places like maryland and virginia, pennsylvania, these are highly populated areas it will coincide with a lot of folks heading back to work or school tomorrow, many schools in the mid—atlantic states will mid—atla ntic states will probably mid—atlantic states will probably be closed tomorrow if you can tell work or work from home tried to avoid the roads during the mundy morning commute cities like washington, baltimore, richmond virginia, even baltimore will get snow like the stay home, stay safe and other road crews to do theirjob, clearthe and other road crews to do theirjob, clear the roads. and other road crews to do theirjob, clearthe roads. it will take some time for the snow to get out of these areas until monday night to really clear out, and then very cold temperatures for the rest of the week, it will not go back above freezing or above stereo celsius until friday and many of these places. those slippery

conditions with roads and sidewalks untreated will last much of the rest of the week. in terms of some of those travel conditions you mentioned for commuters especially in washington, dc, baltimore and so on, potentially some treacherous conditions on the roads, more broadly, in terms of flights, should we be bracing for some travel chaos for a few days?— for a few days? look, i think so we have _ for a few days? look, i think so we have already - for a few days? look, i think so we have already seen - for a few days? look, i think| so we have already seen that for a few days? look, i think i so we have already seen that in parts of the midwest when folks wake up tomorrow morning if they do have a flight scheduled absolutely call ahead or do the legwork now before tomorrow morning to see if things had been delayed or cancelled. it will probably take a few days for things to get back in —— up and running after this big weather event when you talk about the biggest storm and places for five years, they will have quite an effect and it will take some time to probably get the systems back up probably get the systems back up and running whether it is roads and cars and light as we

go through the rest of the week. ., , go through the rest of the week. . , ,. , go through the rest of the week. . , my ,., ., , week. he was saying potentially the biggest _ week. he was saying potentially the biggest storm _ week. he was saying potentially the biggest storm in _ week. he was saying potentially the biggest storm in five - week. he was saying potentially the biggest storm in five years | the biggest storm in five years i can't remember anything like this in washington since at least 2019. to any indication as to why now, what is happening with the weather patterns and systems and climate essentially? well, last winter had _ climate essentially? well, last winter had an _ climate essentially? well, last winter had an el _ climate essentially? well, last winter had an el nino - climate essentially? well, last winter had an el nino that - winter had an el nino that brought very mild temperatures across wide areas of the country, this winter we do not have el nino or la nina these big climate drivers that steer our weather system that means there could be more variability in weather patterns we are going to see and this winter is the first for several we have not had one of those big la nina or el nino events for some time and that seems to be fuelling some of the biggest storms we are seeing this winter, allowing those cold air masses to come south where they were not able to the last couple of winters, and that in

an interesting way clashing with a lot of warmth that has built up over the last several years in places like the caribbean, the atlantic ocean the gulf of mexico. we look at these things and we talk about hurricane season and how that broke a lot of records, the same pattern may be playing a role here in this winter storm and contributing more moisture and contributing more moisture and energy into the system. it's interesting in the background as the climate warms and changes how that has fingerprint or handprint on these individual whether events. , ,., ., these individual whether events. , ., ., events. very important to track as well. ben noll there. there have also been weather warnings in place in the uk where snow and ice continues to cause problems on the roads as well as for trains and air travel in northern england. an amber weather warning for snow in parts of lancashire, cumbria and the lake district has been extended into monday morning, as more wintry showers are expected overnight. milder temperatures in the south of england have led to more than 20 flood

warnings being issued. the fbi says a man who killed 1a people in new orleans on new year's day visited the city twice — in the months before the attack. investigators say shamsud—dinjabbar recorded videos of the area where he rammed a truck into crowds. the us army veteran, who'd pledged allegiance to the islamic state group, was killed in a shoot—out with police. fbi special agent for the new orleans office lyonel myrthil, gave this update on the findings so far. during that time using meta— glasses he recorded a video as he rode through the french quarter on a bicycle. this video shows jabbarr during that trip in october with his meta— glasses as we continue to learn more about that trip we ask anyone who may have seen or interacted with him to contact us.

elon musk has called for nigel farage to be replaced as the leader of reform uk, just weeks after reports that the billionaire was considering donating millions of pounds to the party. a rift emerged between the two this week, when nigel farage distanced himself from elon musk�*s support for the jailed far—right activist stephen yaxley—lennon, also known as tommy robinson. helen catt reports. nigel farage has been keen to publicise the support he's had from the world's richest man. here they were photographed together last month. there had been talk that mr musk was considering donating money to reform uk. in a broadcast this morning, mr farage said his backing had brought other benefits. he may well give us money. whether he does or not, i'll tell you what he gives us. with huge numbers of young people, he makes us look cool. is the reason you hope he's going to give you money... is that why don't want to criticise him? i made it perfectly clear that i don't agree with everything he stands for, but i do believe in free speech. i think he's a hero, and i said that well before

any potential money was offered. but this afternoon, the tech billionaire appears to have turned on mr farage, posting on his social media site x: the rift seems to have come over mr musk�*s support for far right activist stephen yaxley—lennon, also known as tommy robinson. responding to mr musk�*s post this afternoon, mr farage said... mr musk has in recent days posted a series of inflammatory messages about senior labour politicians on the issue of grooming gangs. he's accused the prime minister of complicity and called the minister jess phillips a "rape apologist" after she declined to hold a government—led inquiry into child sexual exploitation in 0ldham. it is a disgraceful smear. keir starmer and jess phillips, by the way, who've both been on the receiving end of completely

ill—judged and ill—founded criticism, are people who have done, in their professional lives, more than most people ever do to lock up paedophiles, rapists, wife—beaters and every other kind of scumbag in our society. there have been several inquiries into child sexual abuse, including in rotherham, in 201a, in telford and a seven—year national review that published its final report in 2022. labour says the tories didn't put in place the recommendations of that review. the conservatives argue it wasn't robust enough. the grooming gangs task force that rishi sunak set up has led to over 500 arrests of gang rape perpetrators but has also uncovered this problem has not finished. for those reasons, that's why it's important we have a proper national statutory inquiry looking at all of this. take over, elon. when donald trump returns to the white house later this month, elon musk will be with him. his influence

will increase even more — a development that will be watched closely by politicians here, who are now dealing with the tricky consequences of his unpredictable interventions. indirect talks between israel and hamas aimed at securing a ceasefire in gaza and the release of hostages are continuing in qatar. there are fresh differences between the two sides — after a hamas official said the group approved a list of 3a israeli hostages to be returned as part of an agreement. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's office then quickly issued a statement, saying hamas had not provided such a list. it comes as the health ministry in gaza says israeli air raids have killed more than 200 people since thursday. israel says it's targeting hamas fighters and infrastructure. jonah fisher has the latest from jerusalem. the last few days have been devastating, even by this war�*s terrible standards. israel says this

weekend it struck more than 100 what it calls terror targets in gaza. one of those hit was the zood family home. destroyed by an israeli air strike on gaza city last night. this morning, they were looking for bodies. amar, a cousin, explains that the bodies of seven family members have been recovered. he says they're looking for four more, three of them children. israel is not allowing western journalists into gaza. it says its strikes this week and eliminated dozens of hamas terrorists. the gaza health ministry says more than 200 people have been killed and many more injured since thursday. not all of them are fighters. hidden but not forgotten, there are still israeli hostages inside gaza. among them, liri albag, a 19—year—old soldier. this was her before.

this is her now, in a still from a video that has been posted online. proof for her parents that she is still alive. translation: we aren't giving up. don't you give up, either. keep fighting and surviving. you're strong and you're capable. we're fighting for you. i love you so much and miss you terribly and am waiting to hug you. liri's dad said they had spoken to israel's prime minister, urging him to make a deal. and that moment might just be inching closer. an israeli delegation is currently in qatar for talks with mediators on a possible ceasefire. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. after 23 years — roadworks on the aa65 head of the valley road in south wales are finally finishing.

the 28—mile, £2 billion upgrade was designed to bring prosperity to one of the uk's most deprived areas. it's been one of the uk's most expensive and complex road upgrade projects this century. the government says an overhaul of the nhs app will make it easier for patients needing non—urgent care in england, to decide where they are treated. it's part of a plan to tackle waiting lists. patients will be able to choose from a range of providers — including within the private sector — as well as book tests and appointments. ru paul's drag race uk star james lee williams — better known as drag queen the vivienne — has died aged 32. publicist simonjones said the performer, who died over the weekend, was "an incredibly loved, warm—hearted and amazing person". drag race judge michelle visage said she is �*utterly heartbroken�* at the news. you're live with bbc news. in less than 2a hours — the us congress will formally meet here in washington

to certify donald trump's election as president of the united states. as part of a certification process — which is mostly a formality — lawmakers convene for a joint session every four years onjanuary 6th. during the session, they read aloud electoral votes for an official count. the winner is then declared by the president of the senate, the vice president of the united states. this year — that is of course the election runner—up, kamala harris. about two months after her election defeat to trump, questions loom about what's next for vice president harris. she's made no announcements about her plans after the biden administration ends on january 20th. earlier, i spoke to the bbc�*s north america supervising editor courtney subramanian. courtney, good to see you. tomorrow it will fall to the vice president to preside over the certification of ultimately her rival, donald trump and his victory. people might think it

is a slightly awkward moment for her perhaps but ultimately this is also the bedrock of american democracy isn't it? absolutely this is her role as the president of the senate, her constitutional duty as you mention it's a bit awkward not the first time a candidate has had to oversee the certification of their opponent and the victory. but her aides have told me she wants things to run smoothly, she really wants to underline the point that, she believes in upholding the rule of law. and in some ways this is following through on her campaign promise to really try and restore dignity, to support american institutions, and that is something we will see tomorrow, which is of course is a departure from four years ago. one of the big questions right now and has been the question since november really, is what is next for kamala harris, i

wonder do we have any indication as to what the future could hold for her request in yes, i spoke to more than a dozen people inside her camp. in than a dozen people inside her cam -. , , camp. in the first thing they want to really _ camp. in the first thing they want to really emphasise i camp. in the first thing they want to really emphasise is | want to really emphasise is that she has a job to finish as vice president. we will see a more re—engaged harris over the next final weeks, and that will include a trip in herfinal week to an international trip to multiple regions where we will see her sort of underline herforeign—policy will see her sort of underline her foreign—policy legacy as she tries to figure out what exactly comes after inauguration day. i think that includes quite a few options, one being running for the governor of california, that is a role that some people inside harris world really want to see her finish of her career, they refer to it as a capstone. but

that would mean if she won she would be smaller and right about the time she would have to launch any sort of presidential bid for 2028. she is really taking some time to weigh these options before her, and i think the 1540 00:18:18,044 --> 00