been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. and millions of catholics around the world prepare to say a final farewell at the funeral of pope benedict xvi. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the us house of representatives has adjourned for a second day without electing a speaker, extending the paralysis at the heart of american politics. president biden said having a congress that can t function is embarassing for the country. republican kevin mccarthy has been stopped six times so far by a group of hardliners within his own party who refuse to back him. without a speaker the chamber is unable to swear in members, fill vital committee roles or adopt rules for passing legislation. let s speak to our north america correspondent peter bowes. what has just happened, what is going on? good question. another rollercoaster david the end result is the same, voting for the new speaker, in that there is no result, the impasse, the deadlock continues because kevi
what has just happened, what is going on? good question. another rollercoaster david the end result is the same, voting for the new speaker, in that there is no result, the impasse, the deadlock continues because kevin mccarthy didn t get the required number of votes, 280, to take on that role. there is a hard core of opponents, rebels, some people are calling them, about 20 you consistently vote against him. what happened after the three rounds of voting earlier, they adjourned and that allow the republicans, at least some of them from that group, and kevin mccarthy, to get together in a room behind the scenes. they brought in the pizza, they sat around the table in an attempt to thrash this out in that meeting broke up with kevin mccarthy suggesting that some progress was being made, but he also said he didn t see any point in having another round of voting this evening. clearly