For a long and frustrating third day, divided Republicans kept the speaker's chair of the US House sitting empty on Thursday, as party leader Kevin McCarthy failed again and again in an excruciating string of ballots to win enough GOP votes to seize the chamber's gavel.

Pressure was building as McCarthy lost seventh, eighth and then historic ninth, 10th and 11th rounds of voting, surpassing the number 100 years ago, in a prolonged fight to choose a speaker in a disputed election.

By nightfall, despite raucous protests from Democrats, Republicans voted to adjourn and return on Friday to try again.

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With McCarthy's supporters and foes locked in a stalemate, the House could not formally open for the new session of Congress.

And feelings of boredom, desperation and annoyance seemed increasingly evident.

One McCarthy critic, Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, cast votes for Donald Trump – a symbolic but pointed sign of the broad divisions over the Republican Party's future.

Then he went further, moving the day from protest toward the absurd in formally nominating the former president to be House speaker on the 11th ballot.

Trump got one vote, from Gaetz, drawing laughter.

As night fell before the second anniversary of the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters trying to overturn Joe Biden's election, Democrats said it was time to get serious.

"This sacred House of Representatives needs a leader," said Democrat Joe Neguse of Colorado, nominating his own party's leader, Hakeem Jeffries, as speaker.

McCarthy could be seen talking, one on one, in whispered and animated conversations in the House chamber.

His emissaries sidled up to holdouts, and grueling negotiations proceeded in the GOP whip's office down the hall.

McCarthy remained determined to persuade Republicans to end the paralysing debate that has blighted his new GOP majority.

McCarthy's leadership team had presented a core group of the Republican holdouts with a deal on paper for rules changes in exchange for their support, said one of the opponents, conservative Republican Ralph Norman of South Carolina, as he exited a late-day meeting.

It included mandating 72 hours for bills to be posted before votes, among others, though details were scarce.

Lest hopes get ahead of reality, he added, "this is round one".

Holdouts led by the chamber's Freedom Caucus are seeking ways to shrink the power of the speaker's office and give rank-and-file lawmakers more influence — with seats on key committees and the ability to draft and amend bills in a more open process.

"We're having good discussions and I think everyone wants to find a solution," McCarthy told reporters hours earlier.

The House, which is one-half of Congress, is essentially at a standstill, unable to launch the new session, swear in elected members and conduct official business.

Yet, despite endless talks, signs of concessions and a public spectacle unlike any other in recent political memory, the path ahead remained highly uncertain.

What started as a political novelty – the first time since 1923 a nominee had not won the gavel on the first vote – has devolved into a bitter Republican Party feud and deepening potential crisis.

Jeffries of New York won the most votes on every ballot but also remained short of a majority.

McCarthy ran second, gaining no ground.

McCarthy resisted under growing pressure to somehow find the votes he needed or step aside so the House could open fully and get on with the business of governing.

The incoming Republican chairmen of the House's Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence committees all said national security was at risk.

"The Biden administration is going unchecked and there is no oversight of the White House," Republicans Michael McCaul, Mike Rogers and Mike Turner wrote in a joint statement.

"We cannot let personal politics place the safety and security of the United States at risk."

But McCarthy's right-flank detractors led by the Freedom Caucus and aligned with Trump, appeared emboldened by the standoff – even though the former president publicly backed McCarthy.

Representative Scott Perry, the representative for Pennsylvania, the leader of the Freedom Caucus and a leader of Trump's efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election, asserted that McCarthy cannot be trusted, and tweeted his displeasure that negotiations over rule changes and other concessions were being made public.

"When confidences are betrayed and leaks are directed, it's even more difficult to trust," he tweeted.

Republican Party holdouts repeatedly put forward the name of Representative Byron Donalds of Florida, assuring the stalemate that increasingly carried undercurrents of race and politics would continue.

They also put forward Republican Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, splitting the protest vote.

Donalds, who is Black, is seen as an emerging party leader and a GOP counterpoint to the Democratic leader, Jeffries, who is the first Black leader of a major political party in the US Congress and on track himself to become speaker some day.

Another Black Republican, newly elected John James, nominated McCarthy on the seventh ballot as nominators became a roll call of the GOP's rising stars.

For the 10th it was newly elected Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, an immigrant from Mexico whose speech drew chants of "USA! USA!"

A new generation of conservative Republicans, many aligned with Trump's Make America Great Again agenda, want to upend business as usual in Washington and are committed to stopping McCarthy's rise without concessions to their priorities.

To win support, McCarthy has already agreed to many of the demands of his opponents.

One of the holdouts' key asks is to reinstate a rule that would allow a single lawmaker to seek a motion to vacate the chair – essentially to call a House vote to oust the speaker.

It's the same rule a previous era of tea party Republicans used to threaten the removal of GOP Speaker John Boehner, and McCarthy has resisted reinstating it.

But those opposing McCarthy do not all have the same complaints, and he may never be able to win over some of them. Several Republicans appear unwilling to ever vote for McCarthy.

Ballots kept producing almost the same outcome, 20 conservative holdouts still refusing to support McCarthy and leaving him far short of the 218 typically needed to win the gavel.

In fact, McCarthy saw his support slipping to 201, as one fellow Republican switched to vote simply present, and later to 200.

With just a 222-seat GOP majority, he could not spare votes.

Thursday was a third long day.

Ahead of the January 6 anniversary, a prolonged and divisive speaker's fight would underscore the fragility of American democracy after the attempted insurrection two years ago.

Colorado Republican Ken Buck sat out several votes after saying on Wednesday that he told McCarthy "he needs to figure out how to make a deal to move forward" or eventually step aside for someone else.

The disorganised start to the new Congress pointed to difficulties ahead with Republicans now in control of the House, much the way that some past Republican speakers, including John Boehner, had trouble leading a rebellious right flank.

The result: government shutdowns, standoffs and Boehner's early retirement.

The longest fight for the gavel started in late 1855 and dragged on for two months, with 133 ballots, during debates over slavery in the run-up to the Civil War.

An unusual item found on a New South Wales beach has sparked a months-long search for the owner.

A swimmer uncovered a silver bar buried in the sand on July 31 last year at Mylestom Beach, about 25km south of Coffs Harbour.

The beach-goer handed the item into Coffs Harbour Police Station, where officers opened an investigation.

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After an extensive search for the owner, police are asking for the public's help.

"If you believe you are the owner of the silver bar, very specific evidence or a certificate of authenticity should be provided," NSW Police said.

"The ingot is stamped with a serial number and has other identifiable markings."

A woman has been charged with murder after a man and his daughter died in a shed fire in southern Queensland.

Todd Mooney, 54, and his daughter Kirra, 10, were found dead after fire tore through a large shed at their home on Fenwicks Road in Biggenden about 12.20pm on December 20.

Queensland Police charged the 24-year-old Maryborough woman with two counts of murder and one count of arson today, after earlier asking the public for assistance.

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Mooney, a baker, had been due to marry his long-term partner at the property just a week after the fire.

Detective Chief Inspector Gary Pettiford said he could not comment on what led to the arrest but added three people had come forward to assist with their investigation.

"We don't believe that she was known to either of the deceased, or Rebecca, Todd's fiancée," he said.

"We still have a hell of a lot of work to do, and it's all quite sensitive."

Pettiford confirmed the woman went to school in Biggenden.

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Police and SES volunteers have been combing the area for clues.

"We have conducted numerous searches with the SES both at the scene of the fire but also at the Isis Highway over a number of days, we are in fact still searching."

He said police divers were searching a body of water in Ban Ban Springs today.

"We have found some items of interest but, again, I can't comment on the nature of those items," he said.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

"As you can see from the damage that was done, the building was completely burned to the ground, which makes our forensic examination quite difficult," he said.

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Detectives are urging anyone who may have seen a white Holden Barina wagon with a distinctive solar panel on the roof, driving on December 20, to contact police.

"We believe that that vehicle was driven by the accused from Biggenden to Ban Ban Springs between 10am and 2pm," Pettiford said.

The 24-year-old is expected to appear in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Accessibility for gamers is something that was once overlooked, but now gaming studios have new features front of mind when developing their next big titles. 

It's hard to believe that something as simple as subtitles didn't even get a look in just ten years ago. 

What is gaming accessibility? 

Gaming accessibilities are settings and features that effectively change the game to enable audiences play in a way that suits them best.

From colourblind modes, controller remapping, advanced sound settings, on-screen text narration and game difficulty – there's a smorgasbord of options to help those with a range of disabilities.

Gamers like Rose rely on these sorts of features to play.

"Autism is more well-known these days, so you could probably guess how they affect my ability to game – loud noises, flashing lights," she told 9news.com.au. 

"Games that don't have settings to turn these off or reduce them usually prohibit me from playing."

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The Queensland gamer says video games have greatly improved accessibility options in recent years, many of which have helped her father – who also has a disability.  

"He had a stroke nearly 20 years ago that he never recovered from," she said.

"For dad, his life is at home.

"Microsoft Flight Simulator allowed dad to experience a world outside his home," she said.

"He'll never get to travel overseas, or heck, even travel interstate.

"But the 4K graphics of flying over Jerusalem were the next best experience he could ever have – and I got to give that to him thanks to Xbox." 

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Rose said gaming studios are doing well in the accessibility space but there's still a way to go.

"We are still a long way from being perfect. I could list off a bunch of accessibility ideas and features, but in reality, none of that is going to be possible until we change our attitude," she said.

"The gaming community is full of people from all walks of life, with all kinds of disabilities, and yet the loudest voices always seem to be a minority of able-bodied people who think games are just for them.

"Developers make games that they think will sell, that is just practical business sense.

"If the community is loud about what they want, developers will cater to that want in order to make the big bucks."

Rose said we need to improve the attitude of the gaming community towards disabled gamers before anything will change. 

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One studio eagerly listening to gamer feedback is Ubisoft.

Ubisoft's Montreal's Senior Manager of Accessibility, David Tisserand, heads a department that didn't exist just a decade ago. 

"Accessibility is about removing unintentional barriers or friction and has become increasingly part of the day-to-day fabric of game development at Ubisoft," Tisserand told 9news.com.au. 

Since 2017, Tisserand has worked across a number of huge Ubisoft titles, including Watch Dogs: Legion, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Immortals Fenyx Rising and Far Cry 6.

And it's not just gameplay; Tisserand said customer support, websites, marketing and social media are all considered when it comes to accessibility.

"It's our goal to create an end-to-end accessible experience from the moment someone hears about our games to the moment they are done playing them," he said. 

"If the core design dictates some intentional barriers, like the ability to aim precisely at a target in a shooter, then we do not want to remove this barrier from the default experience.

"This is when we start thinking about implementing options to open up a fundamentally inaccessible experience for some people, to a wider audience."

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There's still progress to make to eliminate all barriers and Tisserand said the Ubisoft team is committed. 

"We're committed to listening to the feedback from our communities of players with disabilities and working to push the needle further to welcome ever more players into our worlds," he said. 

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Thousands gathered to experience the 16-day event.

A man is in hospital after being found with head injuries in Kihikihi yesterday.

Mexican security forces have captured Ovidio Guzmán, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

The pre-dawn operation on Thursday set off gunfights and roadblocks across the western state's capital.

Defence Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said Army and National Guard personnel had captured a son of "El Chapo", identifying him only as Ovidio, in keeping with government policy.

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Ovidio Guzmán, nicknamed "the Mouse", had not been one of El Chapo's better-known sons until an aborted operation to capture him three years ago.

That attempt similarly set off violence in Culiacan that ultimately led President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to order the military to let him go.

Thursday's high-profile capture comes just days before López Obrador will host US President Joe Biden for bilateral talks followed by their North American Leaders' Summit with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Drug trafficking, along with immigration, is expected to be a top talking point.

"This is a significant blow to the Sinaloa cartel and major victory for the rule of law. It will not, however, impede the flow of drugs into the US. Hopefully, Mexico will extradite him to the US," Mike Vigil, the DEA's former chief of international operations, said on Thursday.

Vigil said Ovidio Guzmán was involved in all of the cartel's activities, especially the production of fentanyl.

A 2018 federal indictment in Washington, DC, accused the younger Guzmán of conspiring to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana in the United States.

The CDC said last July that more than 107,000 Americans had died from a drug overdose during the year ending January 2022, most of them involving opioids including illegally made fentanyl.

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López Obrador's security approach reversed years of what came to be known as the kingpin strategy of taking down cartel leaders, which led to the fragmentation of large cartels and bloody battles for dominance.

López Obrador put all his faith in the military, disbanding the corrupt Federal Police and creating the National Guard under military command.

SUVs spotted with homemade armour

The capture was the result of six months of reconnaissance and surveillance in the cartel's territory, and then quick action on Thursday, Sandoval said.

National Guard troops spotted SUVs, some with homemade armour, and immediately coordinated with the army as they established a perimeter around the suspicious vehicles and forced the occupants out to be searched.

The security forces then came under fire, but were able to gain control of the situation and identify Guzmán among those present and in possession of firearms, Sandoval said.

Cartel members set up 19 roadblocks including at Culiacan's airport and outside the local army base, as well as all points of access to the city of Culiacan, Sandoval said, but the Air Force was able to fly Guzmán to Mexico City despite their efforts, and he was taken to offices of the attorney general's organised crime special prosecutor.

Sandoval said Guzmán was a leader of a Sinaloa faction he called "los menores" or "the juniors", who are also known as "los Chapitos", for the sons of El Chapo.

Other "little Chapos" include two of his brothers — Iván Archivaldo Guzmán and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán — who are believed to have been running cartel operations together with Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

The Chapitos have been taking greater control in the cartel because Zambada was in poor health and isolated in the mountains, Vigil said.

"The Chapitos know that if El Mayo dies, (the cartel) is going to break apart if they don't have control," he said.

"It's going to be very important that the US requests Ovidio's extradition quickly and that Mexico does it."

US Homeland Security Investigations had posted a $US5 million ($7.4 million) reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Guzmán early last year.

Alleged cartel members responded to Thursday's operation by carjacking Culiacan residents and setting vehicles ablaze in the cartel stronghold. Local and state authorities warned everyone to stay inside.

Intermittent gunfire continued into the afternoon on Thursday (Friday AEDT) in Culiacan as Mexican security forces continued to clash with cartel gunmen and few people ventured out. Airports there and in several other Sinaloa cities remained closed.

Passenger plane hit with bullet in operation

Airline Aeromexico said in a statement that one of its jets was struck by a bullet on Thursday morning as it prepared for takeoff.

Passenger video posted online showed people cowering on the floor of the plane.

The company said passengers and crew were safe.

Later, Mexico's Civil Aviation Agency said in a statement that an air force plane in Culiacan had also been hit with gunfire.

In addition to the Culiacan airport, the agency said airports in Los Mochis and Mazatlan were also ordered closed and all flights cancelled for security reasons.

David Téllez was aboard that flight with his wife and children, preparing to return to Mexico City after visiting his in-laws.

Their plane had been waiting for its chance to take off as two large military planes carrying personnel landed as well as three or four military helicopters.

Marines and soldiers deployed along the perimeter of the runway.

When the commercial flight was finally preparing to accelerate, Téllez heard gunshots in the distance.

Within 15 seconds the sounds were suddenly more intense.

"We heard gunshots and threw ourselves to the floor," he said.

He did not know the plane had been hit until a flight attendant told them.

The plane quickly returned to the terminal and they were hustled into a room.

Late Thursday afternoon they were still in the airport, unsure of when they would be able to return to Mexico City.

Hotel guests 'threatened'

Elsewhere in Culiacan, local reporter Marcos Vizcarra had sought shelter in a hotel after gunmen stole his car.

Then he explained via Twitter that armed men had entered the hotel where he had sought shelter "and are threatening guests to give them their car keys".

https://twitter.com/marcosvizcarra/status/1611056248862175232

Later, Vizcarra reported that they had taken his phone, but he had made it home safely.

Such attempts to create chaos often come in response to arrests of important cartel figures in Mexico.

One of the most notorious came when federal security forces cornered Ovidio Guzmán in October 2019, only to let him escape after gunmen shot up the city with high-powered weapons.

López Obrador said at the time he had made the decision to avoid the loss of life.

López Obrador entered office highly critical of the toll of his predecessors' drug war.

He embraced the phrase "hugs, not bullets" to describe his approach to Mexico's chronic violence, which would focus on social programs aimed at weakening the draw of organised crime.

But four years into his six-year term, the death toll remains high.

In July, Mexico captured Rafael Caro Quintero, once one of the godfathers of drug trafficking and the man allegedly responsible for the murder of a DEA agent more than three decades ago, just days after López Obrador met with Biden at the White House.

At the time, the capture was seen as a signal that Mexico could be willing to go after high-profile cartel bosses again, something López Obrador had been loathe to do.