While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Jan 6

Despite growing pressure from President Donald Trump to help overturn his election loss, Vice-President Mike Pence plans to stick to his ceremonial duties when presiding in Congress on Wednesday, advisers said.

Trump ramped up pressure on Pence on Tuesday to block Congress' certification of the November election results in an ongoing attempt to stay in power, after dozens of lawsuits by his campaign challenging election results had failed in US courts.

But the vice-president, a loyal lieutenant during the four years of Trump's often chaotic presidency, has no plans to attempt to do so, even as he seeks to show support for the Republican president's quest.

Pence is set to preside over the US Senate on Wednesday as it receives the results of the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the winner of presidential elections.

Los Angeles ambulance workers have been told to stop transporting some patients with extremely low survival chances to hospital, and to limit oxygen use, as record Covid-19 cases overwhelm medical resources.

California has emerged as the latest epicentre of the US coronavirus pandemic, with nearly 4,000 deaths in the last two weeks alone, and hospitals bracing for another surge expected from the holiday period.

In Los Angeles, where packed hospitals have been turning away ambulances, medics were Monday instructed not to transport adult cardiac arrest patients if they cannot be resuscitated in the field.

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday he was "very disappointed" that China has still not authorised the entry of a team of international experts to examine the origins of the coronavirus.

The 10-strong team had been due to set off in early January as part of a long-awaited mission to probe early cases of the coronavirus, first reported over a year ago in China's Wuhan.

"Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalised the necessary permissions for the team's arrival in China," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online news conference in Geneva. "I have been in contact with senior Chinese officials and I have once again made it clear the mission is a priority for the WHO."

Scaling the world's second-highest peak, K2, in winter is one of the last great feats in mountaineering - and despite what some see as a lack of experience, 28-year-old Pole Magdalena Gorzkowska wants to be the first to do it.

If Gorzkowska, a medal-winning runner who also became the youngest Polish woman ever to climb Mount Everest, makes it to the summit, she will have made history and silenced those who see her attempt as a social media stunt with no chance of success.

"Everyone can have their opinion, and some believe that it takes many years to be able to face such challenges. I just do what I feel I can do," Gorzkowska told Reuters by telephone from her base camp. "Why should I limit myself?"

Son Heung-min fired Tottenham into the League Cup final as the South Korean's decisive goal sealed a 2-0 win over Championship side Brentford on Tuesday.

Moussa Sissoko put Jose Mourinho's team ahead in the semi-final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But Tottenham were still searching for the knockout blow against spirited Brentford until Son netted with 20 minutes remaining.