The stand-off started long before dawn. By the time we arrived in the dark, an army of police had pushed back suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol's angry supporters, who'd camped out overnight hoping to stop his arrest. Some of those I spoke to were crying, others wailing, at what they feared was about to unfold.

As dawn broke, the first officers ran up to the house, but were instantly thwarted - blocked by a wall of soldiers protecting the compound. Reinforcements came, but could not help. The doors to Yoon's house stayed tightly sealed, his security team refusing the police officers entry.

For several hours the investigators waited, the crowds outside growing more agitated - until, after a series of scuffles between the police and security officials, they decided their mission was futile, and gave up.

This is totally uncharted territory for South Korea. It is the first time a sitting president has ever faced arrest, so there is no rule book to follow - but the current situation is nonetheless astonishing.

When Yoon was impeached three weeks ago, he was supposedly stripped of his power. So to have law enforcement officers trying to carry out an arrest - which they have legal warrant for - only to be blocked by Yoon's security team raises serious and uncomfortable questions about who is in charge here.

The investigating officers said they abandoned efforts to arrest Yoon not only because it looked impossible, but because they were concerned for their safety. They said 200 soldiers and security officers linked arms, forming a human wall to block the entrance to the presidential residence, with some carrying guns.

This is arguably part of Yoon's plan, leveraging a system he himself designed. Before he declared martial law last month – a plan we now know he cooked up months earlier – he surrounded himself with close friends and loyalists, injecting them into positions of power.

One of those people is the current head of his security team, who took up the job in September.

But although alarming, this situation is not entirely surprising. Yoon has refused to cooperate with the authorities over this investigation, ignoring every request to come in for questioning.

This is how things reached this point, where investigators felt they had no choice but to bring him in by force. Yoon is being investigated for one of the most serious political crimes there is: inciting an insurrection, which is punishable by life in prison or death.

Yoon has also spurred on his supporters, who have gathered in force outside his residence every day since the arrest warrant was issued. He sent them a letter on New Years' Day thanking them for "working hard" to defend both him and the country.

Although most people in South Korea are upset and angry at Yoon's decision to impose martial law, a core of his supporters have stayed loyal. Some even camped overnight, in freezing temperatures, to try and stop police reaching his home.

Many told me this morning they were prepared to die to protect Yoon, and repeated the same unfounded conspiracy theories that Yoon himself has floated – that last year's election was rigged, and the country had been infiltrated by pro-North Korea forces. They held up signs reading "stop the steal", a slogan they chanted over and over.

Attention is also now on South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok, and how far his powers extend; whether he could and should sack the president's security chief and force the team to allow his arrest. The opposition party says police should be arresting anyone who stands in their way.

Although investigators have until 6 January to attempt this arrest again – this is when the warrant runs out - it is unlikely they will go in once more without changing their strategy or negotiating with the security team in advance. They will want to avoid a repeat of today's failure.

They also have to contend with the throngs of Yoon's supporters, who now feel victorious and empowered. They believe they are largely responsible for the authorities' climb down. "We've won, we did it," they have been singing all afternoon.

As their confidence grows, so will their numbers, especially with the weekend approaching.

Apple has agreed to pay $95m (£77m) to settle a court case alleging some of its devices were listening to people without their permission.

The tech giant was accused of eavesdropping on its customers through its virtual assistant Siri.

The claimants also allege voice recordings were shared with advertisers.

Apple, which has not admitted any wrongdoing, has been approached for comment.

In the preliminary settlement, the tech firm denies any wrongdoing, as well as claims that it "recorded, disclosed to third parties, or failed to delete, conversations recorded as the result of a Siri activation" without consent.

Apple's lawyers also say they will confirm they have "permanently deleted individual Siri audio recordings collected by Apple prior to October 2019".

But the claimants say the tech firm recorded people who activated the virtual assistant unintentionally - without using the phrase "Hey, Siri" to wake it.

And they say advertisers who received the recordings could then look for keywords in them to better target ads.

Class action

Apple has proposed a decision date of 14 February in the court in Oakland, California.

Class action lawsuits work by a small number of people going to court on behalf of a larger group.

If they are successful, the money won is paid out across all claimants.

According to the court documents, each claimant - who has to be based in the US -could be paid up to $20 per Siri-enabled device they owned between 2014 and 2019.

In this case, the lawyers could take 30% of the fee plus expenses - which comes to just under $30m.

By settling, Apple not only denies wrongdoing, but it also avoids the risk of facing a court case which could potentially mean a much larger pay out.

The California company earned $94.9bn in the three months up to 28 September 2024.

Apple has been involved in a number of class action lawsuits in recent years,

In January 2024, it started paying out in a $500m lawsuit which claimed it deliberately slowed down iPhones in the US.

In March, it agreed to pay $490m in a class action led by Norfolk County Council in the UK.

And in November, consumer group Which? started a class action against Apple, accusing it of ripping off customers through its iCloud service.

Wayne Osmond, a founding member of family band The Osmonds, who had a string of hits in the 1970s, has died at the age of 73.

Wayne was a singer and guitarist, and co-wrote many of their biggest hits, including Crazy Horses, Goin' Home And Let Me In.

"Wayne brought so much light, laughter, and love to everyone who knew him, especially me," wrote brother Donny. "He was the ultimate optimist and was loved by everyone."

Merrill Osmond called his late brother "a genius in his ability to write music" who was "able to capture the hearts of millions of people and bring them closer to God".

He continued: "I've never known a man that had more humility. A man with absolute no guile. An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met."

Merrill and Donny said the cause of death was a stroke.

Born in August 1951, in Ogden, Utah, Wayne was the fourth oldest of nine children and raised in a Mormon household.

As a child, he started performing in a barbershop quartet with siblings Alan, Merrill and Jay.

By 1961, the harmonising brothers were regular performers at Disneyland in Florida. A year later, they made their TV debut on The Andy Williams Show.

They quickly became regulars on the show, earning the nickname "one-take Osmonds" because of their flawless, tirelessly rehearsed performances.

Younger sibling Donny joined the line-up in 1963, and they began to broaden their repertoire to include clean-cut pop songs.

Their initial singles flopped but, after the success of the Jackson 5 showed that family pop could be a commercial success, MGM Records signed the band and sent them to work at the famed R&B studio Muscle Shoals.

There, they were given a song called One Bad Apple (Don't Spoil the Whole Bunch), which had originally been written for the Jacksons but was rejected by their record label.

Perky, bubbly and bright, the song topped the US singles chart for five weeks in 1971 and established the band as a chart presence, a decade after their professional debut.

For a while, the siblings generated the same sort of fevered excitement as The Beatles.

When the band flew into Heathrow Airport in 1973, 10,000 teenage fans packed the roof gardens at a nearby office block to see them arrive. Part of the balcony railing and wall collapsed amidst a crowd surge, slightly injuring 18 women.

On their departure, hundreds of fans mobbed their limousine. A reporter for the New York Times said "they were lucky to escape alive", while the Guardian said the scenes almost led to a ban on pop groups entering the UK via Heathrow.

But pop is a fickle industry, and The Osmonds' record sales started to tail off by the mid-1970s.

At the same time, Donny and Marie Osmond were offered their own TV variety show, which became a massive hit in the US and was screened by BBC One in the UK.

As a result, the band went on hiatus and ultimately dissolved in 1980, although they regularly reformed for county fairs and reunion tours over the coming decades.

Wayne Osmond suffered a number of health problems during his life. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour as a child, which resulted in cognitive problems.

In 1994, he noticed that the condition was worsening.

"I noticed I couldn't play my saxophone any more because my head would start throbbing," he later recalled. "And my knees would fall out from under me when I was on stage. This all began happening within a week."

The subsequent surgery and related cancer treatments resulted in significant hearing loss that persisted for the rest of his life. He also suffered a previous stroke in 2012.

In 2019, the musician joined his siblings Alan, Merrill and Jay for their final ever performance on TV show The Talk.

Performing in front of a screen that showed a montage of their career highlights, the original quartet performed a song called The Last Chapter, written as a thank you to their fans.

Sister Marie, who presented the show, joined them afterwards to pay tribute, saying: "I am so honoured to be your sister. I love you guys. You've worked so hard. Enjoy your retirement."

Wayne spent his retirement indulging in hobbies including fly fishing, and spending time with his family. He maintained an optimistic outlook, telling Utah newspaper Desert News that hearing loss didn't bother him.

"My favourite thing now is to take care of my yard," he said. "I turn my hearing aids off, deaf as a doorknob, tune everything out, it's really joyful."

He is survived by wife Kathlyn and five children, Amy, Steven, Gregory, Sarah and Michelle.

He is also survived by his eight siblings: Virl, Tom, Alan, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie and Jimmy.

As the world rings in a new year, lawmakers are convening on the US Capitol to kick off a new Congress.

Friday marks the start of the 119th Congress, with Republican majorities in both the US House of Representatives and the Senate.

This marks a Republican trifecta given that President-elect Donald Trump is also returning to the White House later this month. The US hasn't seen unified control of all three branches of government since 2017, when Trump was last in office.

Republicans are eager to get started on an ambitious to-do list, but things may not come easy - and their majorities in both chambers of Congress leave little room for disagreement. The first test of the party's unity comes on Friday with leadership elections in the House.

Here are five things worth watching as the new session of Congress begins:

1. A Republican trifecta, but barely

Republicans may have the majority in the House, but not by much.

And it will be put to the test as soon as the session begins. The House cannot certify election results or pass laws until lawmakers select their next speaker - the leader of the chamber.

Despite an endorsement from Trump, current speaker Mike Johnson faces opposition from several members within his caucus who remain unconvinced he deserves a second chance.

The party's majority is so small that if Johnson loses just two Republicans in his campaign, it could set off a series of ballots until Republicans coalesce around a lawmaker. In 2023, it took 15 rounds of votes and four days for Kevin McCarthy to win the speakership.

Johnson already faces one hard "no" from Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, but several other Republicans have put themselves in the "undecided" column.

The Republican Party was left with a five-seat majority when the final House races were called in the 2024 election. But that has shrunk after Trump tapped several House members to serve in his administration.

"Do the math," Johnson said during an early December press conference. "We have nothing to spare."

2. Confirming cabinet appointments

In the Senate, lawmakers have already selected their majority leader: South Dakota Senator John Thune won an internal Republican Party vote.

This means senators can move to official business on Friday, but they will face challenges in other ways. Lawmakers are scheduled to begin a string of confirmation hearings for some of Trump's controversial cabinet appointees.

The Senate must sign off on some 1,200 appointments for the new president's administration, but some will come with the tense hearings that attract public attention. They'll first appear before a Senate committee and answer questions, before the full chamber votes.

The nominees include Trump's pick for defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, who faces sexual assault allegations from 2017 which he denies, as well as his pick for health and human services secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who is a vaccine sceptic with a history of spreading misinformation.

Trump's picks were seen making their rounds on Capitol Hill last month to win over Republican senators. But nominees will have to appear before bipartisan committees - meaning the hearings could get heated as senators from both parties use their platform to address criticisms and grievances.

However, the Senate could chose to expedite confirmation hearings from some national security nominees - following a New Year terror attack in New Orleans that left 14 dead and an explosion of a vehicle outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas.

"The US Senate must confirm President Trump's national security team as soon as possible. Lives depend on it," Wyoming Senator John Barrasso wrote in a post on X.

A nomination that clears a committee typically does not face opposition on the full Senate floor, but given some of the initial backlash over Trump's picks, the path to confirmation may be bumpy.

3. A move on taxes

One item that rises to the top of the legislative to-do list for Congress is addressing Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which expires in 2025.

The 2017 legislation - which passed at a time when Republicans controlled both the House and Senate - involved a $1.5tn (£1.2tn) overhaul of the tax code, changed tax brackets and lowered tax rates for most taxpayers.

It marked the biggest tax overhaul in decades. The largest cuts went to businesses and the wealthy, which Democrats have called to reverse.

Trump campaigned on the economy - vowing to extend tax cuts, further slash corporate taxes, and eliminate tax on tips, overtime pay and Social Security income.

How Congress gets it done - an extension of the 2017 bill, a combination of old and new legislation or by other means - is up in the air.

Keeping provisions from the 2017 tax cuts would add an estimated $4tn to the deficit over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This may not sit well with many hard-line Republicans who are adamantly opposed to increasing the nation's debt.

4. Other Republican policy wins

Expect to see legislation move on several key Republican priorities, ranging from curbing illegal immigration to cutting government regulations.

There could be proposals to reduce military aid to Ukraine, impose new tariffs, cut spending for clean energy and enhance border security.

In a November press conference, Johnson outlined a Republican agenda that aimed to reduce inflation, secure borders, restore the country's energy dominance, implement "education freedom" and "drain the swamp".

Lawmakers will also have to address the debt ceiling - the total amount the US can borrow to meet its obligations. The issue already popped up at the end of 2024 when lawmakers faced a government shutdown.

Trump demanded that lawmakers raise or even suspend the debt limit in any spending deal, but the provision was dropped from the final version of the bill that passed in both chambers.

It is possible several priorities may be combined in what is known as a reconciliation bill, which allows Congress to pass a bill on taxes, spending and the debt limit with just a majority. This method avoids the possibility of a filibuster in the Senate, in which opposing lawmakers could delay or even derail a vote.

However they choose to approach it, lawmakers may be spending more face-time on Capitol Hill to tackle their priorities in the next session.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune has scheduled notably more days and weeks for the Senate - including working days on Mondays and Fridays, which traditionally have been considered travel days.

5. New players in the game

The end of the last Congress offered a glimpse at the influence that Trump and his allies have on the congressional agenda.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has been tasked with advising the Trump administration on cuts to government spending, posted dozens of times on his social media platform X to condemn a spending deal Johnson spearheaded with Democrats to avert a government shutdown.

Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance joined in, and the bill was squashed.

Both Trump and Musk threatened to withhold funding and endorsements from sitting Republicans who supported the bipartisan spending bill, raising the question of how much sway they will have over the legislative agenda.

Musk and pharmaceutical entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy could have more opportunities to weigh in. The pair will be co-leading a newly-formed advisory committee focused on cuts to regulations and spending.

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats are re-grouping, with hopes to win back the House during the 2026 midterm elections. Expect to see centre-left lawmakers vying for influence.

Groups within the party all hope to shape its future - such as the Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of lawmakers focused on advancing bipartisan legislation; the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of centrist Democrats; and the centre-left, "pragmatic" New Democrat Coalition.

The number of people with flu in hospital in England has risen sharply over Christmas, NHS chiefs warn.

The latest data shows there were 5,000 patients in hospital with the virus at the end of last week - almost 3.5 times higher than the same week in 2023.

The levels are not as high as those reached in the same period in 2022.

The figures come as top doctors warn about the impact of very cold weather over this weekend on vulnerable patients and the health system.

Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national clinical director for urgent and emergency care, said: "These latest figures show the pressure from flu was nowhere near letting up before we headed into the New Year, skyrocketing to over 5,000 cases a day in hospital as of the end of last week and rising at a very concerning rate.

"With what looks like an extreme cold snap expected right across England ahead of the weekend, we know the low temperatures can be dangerous for those who are vulnerable or have respiratory conditions".

Prof Redhead says people at risk should try and keep warm and make sure they are stocked up on any regular medication.

Apple has agreed to pay $95m (£77m) to settle a court case alleging some of its devices were listening to people without their permission.

The tech giant was accused of eavesdropping on its customers through its virtual assistant Siri.

The claimants also allege voice recordings were shared with advertisers.

Apple, which has not admitted any wrongdoing, has been approached for comment.

In the preliminary settlement, the tech firm denies any wrongdoing, as well as claims that it "recorded, disclosed to third parties, or failed to delete, conversations recorded as the result of a Siri activation" without consent.

Apple's lawyers also say they will confirm they have "permanently deleted individual Siri audio recordings collected by Apple prior to October 2019".

But the claimants say the tech firm recorded people who activated the virtual assistant unintentionally - without using the phrase "Hey, Siri" to wake it.

And they say advertisers who received the recordings could then look for keywords in them to better target ads.

Class action

Apple has proposed a decision date of 14 February in the court in Oakland, California.

Class action lawsuits work by a small number of people going to court on behalf of a larger group.

If they are successful, the money won is paid out across all claimants.

According to the court documents, each claimant - who has to be based in the US -could be paid up to $20 per Siri-enabled device they owned between 2014 and 2019.

In this case, the lawyers could take 30% of the fee plus expenses - which comes to just under $30m.

By settling, Apple not only denies wrongdoing, but it also avoids the risk of facing a court case which could potentially mean a much larger pay out.

The California company earned $94.9bn in the three months up to 28 September 2024.

Apple has been involved in a number of class action lawsuits in recent years,

In January 2024, it started paying out in a $500m lawsuit which claimed it deliberately slowed down iPhones in the US.

In March, it agreed to pay $490m in a class action led by Norfolk County Council in the UK.

And in November, consumer group Which? started a class action against Apple, accusing it of ripping off customers through its iCloud service.

Wayne Osmond, a founding member of family band The Osmonds, who had a string of hits in the 1970s, has died at the age of 73.

Wayne was a singer and guitarist, and co-wrote many of their biggest hits, including Crazy Horses, Goin' Home And Let Me In.

"Wayne brought so much light, laughter, and love to everyone who knew him, especially me," wrote brother Donny. "He was the ultimate optimist and was loved by everyone."

Merrill Osmond called his late brother "a genius in his ability to write music" who was "able to capture the hearts of millions of people and bring them closer to God".

He continued: "I've never known a man that had more humility. A man with absolute no guile. An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met."

Merrill and Donny said the cause of death was a stroke.

Born in August 1951, in Ogden, Utah, Wayne was the fourth oldest of nine children and raised in a Mormon household.

As a child, he started performing in a barbershop quartet with siblings Alan, Merrill and Jay.

By 1961, the harmonising brothers were regular performers at Disneyland in Florida. A year later, they made their TV debut on The Andy Williams Show.

They quickly became regulars on the show, earning the nickname "one-take Osmonds" because of their flawless, tirelessly rehearsed performances.

Younger sibling Donny joined the line-up in 1963, and they began to broaden their repertoire to include clean-cut pop songs.

Their initial singles flopped but, after the success of the Jackson 5 showed that family pop could be a commercial success, MGM Records signed the band and sent them to work at the famed R&B studio Muscle Shoals.

There, they were given a song called One Bad Apple (Don't Spoil the Whole Bunch), which had originally been written for the Jacksons but was rejected by their record label.

Perky, bubbly and bright, the song topped the US singles chart for five weeks in 1971 and established the band as a chart presence, a decade after their professional debut.

For a while, the siblings generated the same sort of fevered excitement as The Beatles.

When the band flew into Heathrow Airport in 1973, 10,000 teenage fans packed the roof gardens at a nearby office block to see them arrive. Part of the balcony railing and wall collapsed amidst a crowd surge, slightly injuring 18 women.

On their departure, hundreds of fans mobbed their limousine. A reporter for the New York Times said "they were lucky to escape alive", while the Guardian said the scenes almost led to a ban on pop groups entering the UK via Heathrow.

But pop is a fickle industry, and The Osmonds' record sales started to tail off by the mid-1970s.

At the same time, Donny and Marie Osmond were offered their own TV variety show, which became a massive hit in the US and was screened by BBC One in the UK.

As a result, the band went on hiatus and ultimately dissolved in 1980, although they regularly reformed for county fairs and reunion tours over the coming decades.

Wayne Osmond suffered a number of health problems during his life. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour as a child, which resulted in cognitive problems.

In 1994, he noticed that the condition was worsening.

"I noticed I couldn't play my saxophone any more because my head would start throbbing," he later recalled. "And my knees would fall out from under me when I was on stage. This all began happening within a week."

The subsequent surgery and related cancer treatments resulted in significant hearing loss that persisted for the rest of his life. He also suffered a previous stroke in 2012.

In 2019, the musician joined his siblings Alan, Merrill and Jay for their final ever performance on TV show The Talk.

Performing in front of a screen that showed a montage of their career highlights, the original quartet performed a song called The Last Chapter, written as a thank you to their fans.

Sister Marie, who presented the show, joined them afterwards to pay tribute, saying: "I am so honoured to be your sister. I love you guys. You've worked so hard. Enjoy your retirement."

Wayne spent his retirement indulging in hobbies including fly fishing, and spending time with his family. He maintained an optimistic outlook, telling Utah newspaper Desert News that hearing loss didn't bother him.

"My favourite thing now is to take care of my yard," he said. "I turn my hearing aids off, deaf as a doorknob, tune everything out, it's really joyful."

He is survived by wife Kathlyn and five children, Amy, Steven, Gregory, Sarah and Michelle.

He is also survived by his eight siblings: Virl, Tom, Alan, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie and Jimmy.

The stand-off started long before dawn. By the time we arrived in the dark, an army of police had pushed back suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol's angry supporters, who'd camped out overnight hoping to stop his arrest. Some of those I spoke to were crying, others wailing, at what they feared was about to unfold.

As dawn broke, the first officers ran up to the house, but were instantly thwarted - blocked by a wall of soldiers protecting the compound. Reinforcements came, but could not help. The doors to Yoon's house stayed tightly sealed, his security team refusing the police officers entry.

For several hours the investigators waited, the crowds outside growing more agitated - until, after a series of scuffles between the police and security officials, they decided their mission was futile, and gave up.

This is totally uncharted territory for South Korea. It is the first time a sitting president has ever faced arrest, so there is no rule book to follow - but the current situation is nonetheless astonishing.

When Yoon was impeached three weeks ago, he was supposedly stripped of his power. So to have law enforcement officers trying to carry out an arrest - which they have legal warrant for - only to be blocked by Yoon's security team raises serious and uncomfortable questions about who is in charge here.

The investigating officers said they abandoned efforts to arrest Yoon not only because it looked impossible, but because they were concerned for their safety. They said 200 soldiers and security officers linked arms, forming a human wall to block the entrance to the presidential residence, with some carrying guns.

This is arguably part of Yoon's plan, leveraging a system he himself designed. Before he declared martial law last month – a plan we now know he cooked up months earlier – he surrounded himself with close friends and loyalists, injecting them into positions of power.

One of those people is the current head of his security team, who took up the job in September.

But although alarming, this situation is not entirely surprising. Yoon has refused to cooperate with the authorities over this investigation, ignoring every request to come in for questioning.

This is how things reached this point, where investigators felt they had no choice but to bring him in by force. Yoon is being investigated for one of the most serious political crimes there is: inciting an insurrection, which is punishable by life in prison or death.

Yoon has also spurred on his supporters, who have gathered in force outside his residence every day since the arrest warrant was issued. He sent them a letter on New Years' Day thanking them for "working hard" to defend both him and the country.

Although most people in South Korea are upset and angry at Yoon's decision to impose martial law, a core of his supporters have stayed loyal. Some even camped overnight, in freezing temperatures, to try and stop police reaching his home.

Many told me this morning they were prepared to die to protect Yoon, and repeated the same unfounded conspiracy theories that Yoon himself has floated – that last year's election was rigged, and the country had been infiltrated by pro-North Korea forces. They held up signs reading "stop the steal", a slogan they chanted over and over.

Attention is also now on South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok, and how far his powers extend; whether he could and should sack the president's security chief and force the team to allow his arrest. The opposition party says police should be arresting anyone who stands in their way.

Although investigators have until 6 January to attempt this arrest again – this is when the warrant runs out - it is unlikely they will go in once more without changing their strategy or negotiating with the security team in advance. They will want to avoid a repeat of today's failure.

They also have to contend with the throngs of Yoon's supporters, who now feel victorious and empowered. They believe they are largely responsible for the authorities' climb down. "We've won, we did it," they have been singing all afternoon.

As their confidence grows, so will their numbers, especially with the weekend approaching.

Proposals on the long-term funding of adult social care in England are unlikely to be delivered before 2028 at the earliest, the government has confirmed.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting is promising "to finally grasp the nettle on social care reform", with an independent commission due to begin work in April.

But the commission, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, is not due to publish its final report until 2028.

Councils and care providers say it is too long to wait for reform of vital services which are already on their knees.

The government also announced immediate plans to get care workers to do more health checks, and a funding boost for services to help elderly and disabled people remain in their homes.

Social care means help for older or disabled people with day-to-day tasks like washing, dressing, medication and eating.

Only those with the most complex health needs get social care provided free by the NHS, so most care is paid for by councils.

In England, only people with high needs and savings or assets of less than £23,250 are eligible for that help, leaving a growing number of people to fund themselves.

Some face paying hundreds of thousands of pounds for their care and may be forced to sell their own home as a result.

The government's ultimate aim is "a new National Care Service, able to meet the needs of older and disabled people into the 21st Century", said Streeting.

He said he had invited opposition parties to take part in the commission "to build a cross-party consensus to ensure the National Care Service survives governments of different shades, just as our NHS has for the past 76 years".

Baroness Casey - who has led several high-profile reviews, including into homelessness, the Rotherham child exploitation scandal and the Metropolitan Police - said she was pleased "to lead this vital work".

She is viewed in government as being straight-talking, with good cross-party links, and as someone who gets things done.

Even so, drawing up a plan for a National Care Service that meets the needs of an ageing population and is affordable is perhaps her biggest challenge yet.

There is agreement that the care system has been in crisis for years, struggling with growing demand, under-funding and staff shortages.

The problem has been getting political agreement on how overdue reform will be funded.

In 2010, Labour plans to fund social care were labelled a "death tax"' in that year's election, and Conservative plans were called a "dementia tax" in the 2017 election.

There have also been numerous commissions, reviews and inquiries over the past 25 years which have failed to bring change.

The 2011 Dilnot Commission plan for a cap on individual care costs came closest, making it into legislation, but was not implemented.

It was finally scrapped by the new Labour government last summer because it said the last Conservative administration had not set aside the money to fund the reform.

However, providing enough support for people in their own homes, care homes and supported living remains a pressing issue.

The care systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are slightly more generous, but all are facing the pressures of growing demand and squeezed finances.

"Our ageing society, with costs of care set to double in the next 20 years, demands longer-term action," said Streeting.

The government had promised a National Care Service in its manifesto, although provided little detail.

The independent commission will work with users of care services, their families, staff, politicians and the public to recommend how best to build a care service to meet current and future needs.

"Millions of older people, disabled people, their families and carers rely upon an effective adult social care system to live their lives to the full with independence and dignity," said Baroness Casey.

"An independent commission is an opportunity to start a national conversation, find the solutions and build consensus on a long-term plan to fix the system."

The commission will report to the prime minister and its work will be split into two phases.

Phase one will identify critical issues and recommend medium-term improvements. This will report by mid-2026.

Phase two will look at how to organise care services and fund them for the future. This report is not due until 2028 - a year before the next election.

The King's Fund independent health think-tank urged the government to "accelerate the timing".

"The current timetable to report by 2028 is far too long to wait for people who need social care, and their families," said its chief executive, Sarah Woolnough.

Councils, which are under huge financial pressure, pay for care services for most people.

Melanie Williams, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, agreed that the "timescales are too long".

She believes much of the evidence and options on how to reform adult social care are already known and worries that "continuing to tread water until a commission concludes will be at the detriment of people's health and well-being".

About 835,000 people received publicly funded care in 2022, according to the King's Fund. The charity Age UK estimates there are about two million people in England who have unmet care needs - and according to workforce organisation Skills for Care, while 1.59 million people work in adult social care in England, there are currently 131,000 vacancies.

Helen Walker, the head of Carers UK, which represents millions of unpaid people who provide care to family members, said families were "under intense pressure and providing more care than ever before"

When older or disabled people are unable to get the help they need in the community they are more likely to end up in hospital, or get stuck on a ward when they are ready to leave.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS England chief executive, said: "We hope this vital action plan and commitment to create a National Care Service will both help better support people and ease pressure on hospital wards."

The government also confirmed an extra £86m would be spent before the end of the financial year in April to help thousands more elderly and disabled people to remain in their homes.

The money is on top of a similar sum announced in the Budget for the next financial year.

Overall, it should allow 7,800 disabled and elderly people to make vital improvements to their homes which should increase their independence and reduce hospitalisations, says the government.

Other changes include:

• better career pathways for care workers
• better use of technology and new national standards to support elderly people to live at home for longer
• up-skilling care workers to deliver basic checks such as blood pressure monitoring
• a new digital platform to share medical information between NHS and care staff.

The number of people with flu in hospital in England has risen sharply over Christmas, NHS chiefs warn.

The latest data shows there were 5,000 patients in hospital with the virus at the end of last week - almost 3.5 times higher than the same week in 2023.

The levels are not as high as those reached in the same period in 2022.

The figures come as top doctors warn about the impact of very cold weather over this weekend on vulnerable patients and the health system.

Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national clinical director for urgent and emergency care, said: "These latest figures show the pressure from flu was nowhere near letting up before we headed into the New Year, skyrocketing to over 5,000 cases a day in hospital as of the end of last week and rising at a very concerning rate.

"With what looks like an extreme cold snap expected right across England ahead of the weekend, we know the low temperatures can be dangerous for those who are vulnerable or have respiratory conditions".

Prof Redhead says people at risk should try and keep warm and make sure they are stocked up on any regular medication.

A day of high drama has drawn to an end in South Korea, with investigators suspending an attempt to arrest ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol after a six-hour standoff with the security team outside his home.

"We've determined that the arrest is impossible," said the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which has been investigating Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration.

"Next steps will be decided after review," the CIO said, adding that Yoon's "refusal of the legal process" is "deeply regrettable".

Yoon's supporters, who have been camped out in front of the presidential residence for days, cheered in song and dance as the suspension was announced. "We won," they chanted.

Investigators have until 6 January to arrest Yoon, before the warrant expires. However they can apply for a new warrant and try to detain him again.

The man who rented a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside of President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel is an active-duty US special forces soldier, officials have confirmed.

Las Vegas police identified Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado, as the renter of the vehicle who drove the Cybertruck from Colorado to Las Vegas.

They said they were fairly certain he was the same person found dead in the vehicle after the explosion but were waiting for DNA evidence to confirm this.

The body was burnt beyond recognition and found with a gunshot wound to the head believed to be self-inflicted, according to Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill.

The explosion injured seven people after the vehicle - filled with fuel canisters and firework mortars - exploded. Officials said all injuries were minor.

Authorities said they were yet to determine any motive.

"I'm comfortable calling it a suicide with a bombing that occurred immediately after," Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a Thursday afternoon press conference.

Livelsberger rented the Cybertruck on 28 December in Denver, Colorado. He has decades of experience with the US military, having served in the Army and National Guard.

He entered the active duty Army in December 2012, serving as a special operations soldier.

The US Army said he was on approved leave at the time of his death.

Livelsberger's father spoke to the BBC's news partner CBS and said his son was currently serving in Germany and on leave to visit Colorado and see his wife and eight-month-old daughter.

Livelsberger's father said he last spoke to his son at Christmas and that everything seemed normal.

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US law enforcement is looking for clues to unravel the mystery behind the Tesla vehicle that exploded outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas earlier this week, giving seven people minor injuries.

The man who rented the Cybertruck - then drove it to the city and parked it in front of the hotel - has been identified as Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a 37-year-old active-duty US special forces soldier.

Police found his lifeless body inside the charred Tesla with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. They also found fuel cannisters and more than a dozen firework mortars in the bed of the vehicle.

On Thursday, there remained a heightened police presence at the hotel, located right off the busy Las Vegas strip. Yellow police tape cordoned off a small section of the hotel's entrance as employees worked to repair damage to the facade.

Authorities continue to work and piece together information, and many questions remain.

For example, it is unclear why Livelsberger rented the car - or if the perpetrator was intending to make a political statement ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House later this month.

Why did Livelsberger drive to Las Vegas?

One of the biggest unanswered questions is why Livelsberger rented the Tesla and drove it more than 800 miles (1,300km) from Colorado to Las Vegas.

Las Vegas police said he rented the vehicle on 28 December in Denver. They were able to track his movements using photographs taken on the drive and information from Tesla's charging technology. He was the only one seen driving it, they said.

The vehicle arrived in the city on Wednesday morning, less than two hours before the explosion, police said.

Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said on Thursday that a body inside the vehicle was recovered. It was burned beyond recognition, but the county's coroner used DNA and dental records to confirm that Livelsberger had been inside the Cybertruck at the time of the blast. He was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

"I'm comfortable calling it a suicide with a bombing that occurred immediately after," Sheriff McMahill said. He added that no motive for the incident had been established.

Was the explosion meant to be a political statement?

Another big question is whether the explosion was meant as a statement ahead of the change of US president later this month.

Police have not found any evidence that links the alleged perpetrator to specific political beliefs, but they said they were investigating whether the incident was tied to the fact that President-elect Donald Trump owns the hotel, or that Elon Musk runs Tesla.

Trump recently named Musk to co-lead a presidential advisory commission, the Department of Government Efficiency, after the two became close during Trump's campaign.

"It's not lost on us that it's in front of the Trump building, and that it's a Tesla vehicle," said Spencer Evans, an FBI agent based in Las Vegas, on Thursday.

"But we don't have information at this point that definitely tells us, or suggests, that (the incident) was because of a particular ideology," he said.

Was it related to the attack in New Orleans?

The explosion happened just a few hours after a man drove a pickup truck into New Year revellers on the crowded Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, killing 14 people and injuring dozens of others.

That attacker has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US citizen who also served in the US Army.

President Joe Biden has said investigators are looking into whether the two incidents are linked, though so far nothing has been uncovered to suggest that is the case.

But the question continues to be fuelled by the apparent similarities between the two incidents and some biographical details of the drivers of both vehicles.

Both incidents happened in the early hours of New Year's Day. Both men served in the US armed forces - including at the Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) military base in North Carolina - and both completed a tour in Afghanistan. Both men also rented the vehicles they used through a mobile car rental application called Turo.

However, police have said there is no evidence the two men were in the same unit or served at the same time at Fort Liberty. Although both were deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, there is no evidence they served in the same province, location or unit.

In the New Orleans attack, police recovered an Islamic State (IS) group flag from the vehicle used by Jabbar. They added that he posted videos to social media moments prior claiming allegiance to the group. Police have determined that Jabbar was acting alone.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, there is no evidence that suggests that Livelsberger was motivated by IS, or that he and Jabbar had ever been in contact. Police have cautioned that the investigation remains active.

What is Livelsberger's background?

Livelsberger was a decorated special forces intelligence sergeant who was serving in Germany, but was on approved leave at the time of the incident.

His father told BBC's US partner CBS News that his son was in Colorado to see his wife and eight-month-old daughter.

He said he last spoke to his son at Christmas and that everything seemed normal.

The Daily Beast reported that Livelsberger was a "big" supporter of Trump. A senior law enforcement official who spoke with Livelsberger's family told the outlet that Livelsberger voted for Trump in November's election.

His uncle told The Independent that Livelsberger loved Trump "and he was always a very, very patriotic soldier, a patriotic American."