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announcer: and now, "bbc news" >> this is bbc world news america. hunter biden becomes the first son of a sitting u.s. president to be convicted of a crime. he is found guilty on federal gun charges. as fighting continues in gaza, the u.s. confirms it has received hamas's final response to an israeli cease-fire proposal. and as ukrne's president presses for more european aid, the u.s. clears the way for a once banned military brigade to use american weapons. ♪ caitriona: hello and welcome to

world news america. a delaware court found president joe biden's son huer guilty of all three counts of his federal gun kind trail -- gun crime trial. jury decided hunter biden headlight about his drug use while buying a gun in 2018. during the weeklong trial, prosecution suggested mr. biden knowingly misrepresented his drug addiction when he made the purchase. his defense team had argued he was in recovery at the time. your is the breakdown of those three guilty counts. the first, making a false statement to obtain a firearm. the secondproviding false information required for record-keeping. the third count was an illegal possession of a gun while using narcotics. prosecution said ultimately the case was about the illegal choices hunter biden made to obtain the firearm. >> while there has been much testimony about the defendant's abuse of drugs and alcohol.

-- abuse of drugs and alcohol, ultimately this case was not just about addiction. the sease that haunts families across the united states, including hunter biden's family. this case was about the legal choices to fit -- the defendant made well in the throes of addiction, his choice to lie on a government form when he brought a gun, and a choice to then possess that gun. caitriona: over the course of the trial, hunter biden's family, including the first lady jill biden, his stepmother, appeared at the courthouse to show support. there was detailed testimony of hunter biden's struggles from his daughter naomi, his ex-girlfriend, and his brother's widow and his own ex-wife. hunter biden could now face up to 25 years in prison, though as unlikely to face a lengthy jail sentence. hunter biden is the first child

of a sitting president to be convicted of a federal crime. president joe biden says he accepts the outcome and will continue to respect the judicial process as hunter considers an appeal. in a statement, president biden said i am the president, but i am also a dad. jayland i love our son d we are so proud of the man he is today. so many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and feel so strong and resilient in recovery you -- in recovery. for more, let's go to delaware for our correspondent, carl. there has been a lot of attention on this case. what has the atmosphere been like around the courthouse? correspondent: lots of media here, as you might expect, tv cameras to my left and right. it was quite a scene behind me when that verdict was announced. dozens of reporters came sprinting out of the front doors of the courthouse to say verdict

had been reached and hunter biden had been convicted on all three federal counts. it was an historic version -- verdict. the jury deliberating for a total of three hours, two hours today, one hour on monday it that was the scene here. surprisingly, not so many supporters or those against hunter biden, a scattered few, not quite the same level of attention we saw a few days ago during the trial of former president donald trump. caitriona: the jury returned a verdict relative quickly. one of the jurors have been speaking about what went on in the jury room. what d you know about the deliberations? >> we have learned more how the jury went about coming to this conclusion. we were speaking with one of the jurors on this case who prefers to remainnonymous, and he told us that despite the famous last name of the person on trial,

politics really did not enter the equation here, at least not in that deliberation room. here is something he told us. he said, "i was never thinking of president joe biden, even though mrs. biden was there in the room. somehow you block it all out of your mind. his dad was not on trial." despite a lot of the political spin we hear from democrats and republicans, when it came to the 12 people on the jury, they say politics did not play a factor. caitriona: what happens next? what is the next development in this case? carl: we heard from the judge today saying there would be a sentencing. we do not have a date yet, but we believe it will be in the next 120 days or so, about three to four months. that will be taking us closer and closer to the november election. hunter biden does face a maximum of 25 years in prison. it is unlikely he will serve any quite a time like that.

it could be probation or fines. there could be an appeal here. many legal experts say hunter biden might actually have a stronger case on appeal than he did during his actual trial. and his legal troubles are not over yet. he faces a separate felony charges in california. he is accused of tax evasion there for not paying more than $1 million in taxes. he has pleaded not guilty to that. that trial expected to beginning september -- to begin in september. caitriona: karl, thank you for that. for more on today's events, i am joined by the federal federal -- former federal u.s. prosecutor face gaye. thank you for being with us. there has been discussion about people receiving equal treatment, no matter who they are. how common is it that the department of justice would take a case of this nature, prosecuting an individual for gun ownership while they are

addicted to drugs. >> there are probably 300 or 400 cases like this prosecuted in a year. most are resolved by plea deals that do not involve incarceration. it is fairly rare to take one of these cases to tal, that underlying incident of violence, using a gun unlawfully obtained. having said that, this is a very serious crime. the only way to control the traffic with handguns is to be truthful when people deal with a firearms dealer and on the federal forms clearing them to possess the guns. it is certainly a crime from a policy perspective that should be prosecuted, but the tendency of the department of justice is to prosecute when the has been an underlying incident of violence associating with possessing a gun. caitriona: which was not raised in court in this case we are

discussing. there have been questions raised on both sides of the aisle as to whether it was a good use of taxpayers' money to prosecute it all the way to trial. do you have a few on that? faith: it was certainly an attempt to work out a plea deal here. the judge had questions about that and it fell apart. from a policy perspective, it is important that people are truthful in terms of what they put on federal and gun applications. there is no doubt there is a bigger deterrence factor when a famous person whose trial is being followed by everyone in the country is seen to stand for those charges. caitriona: we do not know when sentencing will be. the judge did not set an exact date. but do you think hunter biden will face a lengthy jail term? there is quite a range open to the judge. faith: there is a range open, but there are sentencing guidelines under federal law,

and since hunter biden is not a felony and there was no crime of violence associated with this possession of a gun, the sentencing guidelines will likely not call for incarceration. he also could not take and that is found to not be truthful about -- did not take the stand that is found to not be truthful about what happened. that will help him. he is already showing huge contrition for what has happened in his life, the tragedy of his drug addiction. all of those things will help him. my sense is he will not face incarceration, or if he does face it, perhaps a minimal rehabilitation program. caitriona: hunter biden is also facing a tax case in california. prosecutors accused him of not paying $1.4 million in taxes from 2014 to 2018.

will these proceedings in delaware have any impact? faith: they could. if hunter biden is convicted in the tax fraud case, he already will be a convicted felon in this case. that could affect the seencing guidelines there and lead to a tougher sentence. caitriona: when those proceedings take place before the delaware proceedings, if we have sentencing and potentially an appeal after that? faith: it is possible that this delaware case will not be concluded. that does not mean a conviction here could not be taken into account in a presentencing report if he is convicted of the tax charges. caitriona: faith, thanks as always for joining us with your thoughts here on bbc news. faith: thanks for having me. caitriona: hamas has given its formal response to the latest cease-fire plan for gaza.

the group in a statement said it expressed readiness to reach a deal that called for a complete halt to fighting in gaza. white house spokesperson john kirby said the u.s. has received and is evaluating hamas's response. this comes after the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken set hamas was the only remaining obstacle to a cease-fire plan. he made the comments after meeting families of hostages in tel aviv. blinken says benjamin netanyahu as assured him of his support for the proposal, even though mr. netanyahu has already said he will not agree to end the war until hamas has been totally defeated. correspondent: hamas has expressed readiness to reach a deal, but it is taking to its initial demands. they include a guarantee that there will be a permanent cease-fire in gaza and also the complete withdrawal of israeli

forces from the territory. qatar and egypt, which have been mediating the talks, say they have received this response from hamas and they will record the next steps in these negotiations with the united states. the deal being discussed is a three state -- three stage plan. the first stage would see the release of hostages being held in gaza and then pave the way for a permanent cease-fire. hamas wants a guarantee for a permanent cease-fire because they fear that once the hostages are out, the israeli military may return to gaza to continue with its operation against the group. benjamin netanyahu had previously said that israel would not commit to an end of the war without achieving its goals of destroying hamas's military capabilities in gaza.

caitriona: we can also travel to jordan for a humanitarian conference. lincoln announced millions in new aid to palestinians and encourage other countries to provide additional assistance as well. he said the crisis in gaza was immense and spoke about the impact of the war on children. let's take a listen to what he said. >> i think we all know there is no time to waste, given the help that hundreds of thousands of palestinians are enduring every day. a 10-year-old lost his parents, brothers, and other family members, killed in an airstrike targeting terrorists. he said, when my mom and dad were alive, i used to sleep. now i cannot sleep anymore. there is an acronym that has become increasingly common for

children like him in gaza. wc and sf. wounded child, no surviving family members. caitriona: we are joined by a senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace. thanks indeed for being with us. does it seem that we are in an impasse here, both sides sticking resolutely to the position they have had for some time right now. >> i think that is probably right. it is a 4.5 page proposal. i guess the real question is first, is this an es but parading as a no, or is it in fact a conditional response that

is subject to negotiations and agreement? we do not know that until we see the actual text of hamas's response area i will say in this negotiation, there is no sense of margin from one side or another, giving one another the benefit of the doubt. i will go further to say that the only party right now -- and urgency is a critically important factor in why negotiations work when they do. hamas is simply not in a hurry to reach this deal. the prime minister of israel is not in a hurry to reach a comprehensive deal. that leaves the biden administration. it is not a good position for a mediator to bn because it reflects a certain amount of desperation, which sends signals to each side that they are willing to raise the price. caitriona: but it is not the biden administration who will ultimately make the move, it has

to be those two sides. where do we go from here from what you are saying? >> i think you have to take a look at what hamas is combating. it is going to be conditional, and there are going to be demands for guarantees on at least two or three elements, which i do not think this government of israel, or probably even the previous one which had the participation of benny gantz in the war cabinet, one is an insurance that israeli forces will withdraw fm gaza. a second that this deal, if you accept it, would constitute a permanent cessation of hostilities. we are talking about war termination. number three, that this is not an express demand, i expect the senior leadership of hamas and their families will want assurances with respect to their

own personal safety. rightly, i do not think that is an assurance that anyone could give. even if they gave it, i suspect it would never be accepted by any israeli government. impasse is the right word here. it really would take a degree of flexibility and urgency on the part of the two main combatants here, hamas and the current government of israel, to make this work. i would only suggest one possibility, and that is an agreement to do a phase one of phase 3. a cease-fire for six weeks in exchange for a limited number of hostages, the women, the infirmed, the elderly. a searching of humanitarian assistance in gaza at a level we have not seen before. i think the government of israel actually would accept that proposal for phase one.

i am not sure hamas will. but that strikes me as the only way to move forward. caitriona: if we are talking about urgency, the party with the greatest urgency are those civilians inside gaza who are suffering. antony blinken described it today as hell inside of gaza. is there any road at all for the international community beyond the negotiating parties involved? aaron: forgive me, but i set about urgency, you are 100% right. the palestinians of gaza are suffering. at the hostages hamas holds are suffering. the families of those hostages are suffering. i just do not think, from the beginning of this conflict, it has been the two major combatants, hamas and israel, that have set the terms, escalation, de-escalation, the interest. the international community in a

conflict like that, when the states are perceived to be vital, has not had a great deal of influence. i am not sure that the international community, whether it is a un security council resolution, whether it is from the g7, whether it is the icc, the icj, have really not had the kind of impact that some have believed it could or should have had, both on israel and hamas. that is the problem, it seems to me, in trying to move toward war termination. it is the problem -- it is the parties themselves that will have to make these decisions, and i do not think israel or hamas is on the cusp of making them. sumi: -- caitriona: we will have to wait and see what happens next. ukraine's far east has come under intense russian bombardment and advances over the last few months, but now the mayor of kharkiv says there has

been fewer russian attacks since the u.s. allowed his country's forces to strike targets across the border using american weapons. this as u.s. state department officials on tuesday cleared the way for a ukrainian military unit to access u.s. training and arms supplies, reversing a daylong band onhe controversial brigade. the review found no evidence that the unit had violated human rights. rich officials condemned washington's decision. it is the latest policy shift that allows ukraine flex ability in using u.s. weapons, and it comes as u.s. president volodymyr zelenskyy visits germany, hoping to encourage european nations to invest in ukraine. david mcginnis has more details on the conference. correspondent: thousands of delegates from all over the world planned the reconstruction of ukraine after the war. they include government officials from around 60 countries as well as business leaders. that is because the main point

of this conference is to get private investment into ukraine. politicians say state funds are not coming to get enough, no matter how many billions of euros and dollars get pumped into ukraine. they need businesses to get involved. on the other hand, it is immediate reconstruction for bond infrastructure to provide energy. on the other hand, it is about rebuilding ukraine in the future when the war finishes, and that is more difficult because no one knows how long this is going to last. after the conference, president zelenskyy went to parliament to deliver a speech. the mps there applauded, gave standing ovation. it was a moving moment. but not all in p's attended -- not all in p -- not all mp's attended. some accused him of escalating the war. as we see national elections in germany next year, those voices on the extreme are going to get

louder mainstream germany still very much supports ukraine, and they back the chancellor's line that peace in europe is only possible if ukraine is fully supported. caitriona: the president of malawi confirmed the vice president has been killed in a plane crash. in a somber address to the nation, the vice president said the aircraft carrying the president and nine others has been completely destroyed. the plane came down in a forest north of the country on monday. >> a search-and-rescue team has found the aircraft near here, in the forest, and they have found it completely destroyed with no survivors. all passengers on board were killed on impact. words cannot describe how heartbreaking this is. i can only imagine how much pain and anguish you all must be feeling at this time.

caitriona: let's turn to some other important news from around the world. the human says a boat carrying 200 62 migrants cycled yemen's coast on monday, killing at least 49 peopl 140 others are still missing. the's international migration agency said patrol boats are posing a challenge to ongoing operations. these rescue missions are often deadly, but the u.n. counted 700 deaths in the red sea in 2023 alone. the prosecutor at the criminal court says his office is investigating allegations of crimes against humanity in north dart four. -- north darfur. they warned the city could fall imminently. the city has been a site of weeks of innse fighting.

a u.s. court has found multinational fruit company chiquita brand international liable for financing a columbia paramilitary group, order to to pay 30 $8 million in damages following a civil case by eight colombian families whose relatives had been killed at the united self-defense forces of colombia. chiquita says it intends to appeal the verdict. finally, fourth of july celebrations are right around the corner here in the u.s., and if there was anything that says american independence day, it is the world famous annual hot dog eating contest on coney island. one major draw will be missing this year after 16 time champion joey chestnut was reportedly banned from the competition, because mr. chestnut signed a deal with impossible foods, the plant-based rival to the contest's sponsor, nathan's. perhaps for the first time since 2016, another competitor will get a shot at beating mr.

chestnut's record announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. cunard is a proud supporter of public television. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: get the free pbs app now and stream the best of pbs.

wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. xfinity internet. made for streaming. geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the newshour tonight. hunter biden is found guilty of all three felony counts in his federal gun trial. geoff: hamas responds to the latest israeli hostage deal proposal, as the humanitarian