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♪ >> i am in washington. this is bbc world news america. donald trump says he has been targeted in an investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. an american soldier detained in north korea after willfully entering the country. witnesses say he was laughing while crossing the border. with extreme heat, we look at how vulnerable populations handle the risks. welcome. we begin within developing story out of north korea, where a u.s. soldier has been detained after crossing the border without authorization. u.s. officials say the soldier crossed the militarized zone between north and south korea

while on a tour. the area is heavily fortified the army has identified the soldier as travis king. he was reportedly being escorted back to the u.s. for disciplinary reasons before he turned around at the airport. a witness who is part of the two accent he saw the soldier laughing while running across the border. lloyd austin confirmed the soldier did cross the order willfully. >> we bieve he is in custody. we are closely investigating and monitoring and working to notify the soldier's next of kin and engaging to address the incident. in terms of my concerns, i am for most concerned about the welfare of our troops. we will remain focused on this. this will develop in the next several days. >> our north america

correspondent sean daley was at the pentagon briefing earlier. what more do we know about the circumstances of the soldier crossing into north korea and why he did so? >> we know quite a bit but not really from the pentagon. what we saw there was the extent of whathey said, which is fairly little. the u.s. military has confirmed that this is travis king, private second-class, has served since january 2021. we have spoken to officials who say he spent some time in detention in south korea and that he was heading back to the u.s. to face separation from the military. as things stand, he would still be serving. it is understood he said goodbye to his escorts within the airport, made his way to enjoy the tour of the dmz. he has made his way, along with

we believe 42 other people on a bus and this crossed willfully, says the pentagon, into north korea, where they believe he has been detained. >> what is the pentagon doing to secure his release? >> what happens in all of these circumstances is there is the official site. the military says it is working with its counterparts. they were trying to "resolve" what they call and incidents. the behind the scenes, there will be all kinds of back channeling. to understand what was in his mind when he crossed the border come what were the circumstances? what can they do? what can they do to get them back to the u.s.? >> other americans have been detained in north korea in the past. what has happened in those cases? >> quite a few over the years.

what has happened is there has been slightly closer diplomatic ties. there was this bizarre situation under the trump administration where there was a war of words between downtown and the north korean leader talking about ulcers of missiles that would be fired. what happened is diplomacy happens behind the scenes. under the trump administration, three americans have been released. a judgment had been detained for 17 months. he was released after negotiations but returned to the u.s. and died six days later th a neurological condition. >> john daly, thank you so much. let's get some more perspective. i am joined by sue in new york. she served as a senior analyst on korean issues for the cia and

was director for korea, japan, and oceanic affairs of the council under bush and obama. there have been other cases of americans who have crossed into north korea, landed in custody, but this is a u.s. soldier. how unusual is this? >> is very unusual. -- it is very unusual. i think there was one soldier a number of years ago. other times, they are forcibly detained. there was a student in north korea but north koreans kept him hit this is a different story. it is an american soldier defecting to north korea. it is unusual and unfortunate in terms of timing. we have a u.s. nuclear submarin that is docked in south korea for the first time in four decades. we have a nuclear group. we have americans in south korea

meeting to talk. this was a time to showcase the commitment, u.s. commitment of protecting south korea. this is unfortunate ting. >> we will get back to that time in quite in a minute but does the matter in which he was detained for the fact that he is a soldier affect efforts in trying to get him released? >> i think so, not only that he is a soldier, but he voluntarily defected it is a bit of a different story when the north koreans are keeping him very you might not want to go back. i am not sure how this negotiation is going to unfold. also, u.s. and north korea are at an impasse. there has been no dialogue for the last several years, since the collapse of the hanoi summit the situation has. rated -- has deteriorated.

north koreans are expanding their nuclear arsenal, had some 70 missile tests last year. they are modernizing their arsenal. there is no talk between the u.s. and north korea. i am not sure how it will unfold >> on the question of dialogue, the pentagon says it is in contact with its counterparts in north korea. what kind of dialogue does exist for a scenario like this? >> i am sure it is from military to military. it is hard to know. since the biden administration has refused to have a conversation, i do not know exactly what communication is open. during the mindin administration, there was a hotline for now conversation has been frozen. it is unusual. what if this american soldier does not want to come back? this is also propaganda for

north korea to be able to say an american soldier defecd. this makes north korea great. we are a socialist system. it is a propaganda been for north korea -- boon for north korea. they usually drive a hard bargain to return any american this is an unfortunate situation. >> do we know anything about how he would treated in north create? -- north korea? >> depends. he voluntarily defected. perhaps they could use him as a propaganda boon. maybe he would not be treated as horribly as others. maybe he would be able to say, if he says negative things about the u.s., and they can showcase him as somebody who is good for their propaganda, maybe they will treat him a bit better, but normally they do not treat americans well. we know what happened to auto

worneer. but he defected. that is different from other americans detained in north area. >> you mentioned tensions between the u.s. and north korea. we say japanese officials say north korea launched two ballistic missiles recently, how do you think this affects relations between the u.s. and north korea? >> i think those missile tests were in response to our submarines being docked in south korea and the nuclear consultative group meeting. i do not think it has anything to do with this defection. it is hard to say. there might be a small opening here in that north korea refused to have a conversation about denuclearization. they said we will not come back to talks if talks are not about denuclearization. but perhaps this is a different

story that we are not asking to talk about this defection. maybe there is a small window of opportunity american and earth koreans to come back to talk or the north koreans can play hardball and not do that. >> quick final question if there might be a final opportunity -- window of opportunity, how could u.s. officials get this soldier released? >> president biden perhaps writing in the -- writing a letter to kim jong-un. but i do not know if north koreans would do that easily. they drive a hard bargain. they are tough in th past, get any american released, it took many months and usually a high-profile visiting north korea, like bill clinton going to north korea can -- to get the journalists out of north korea or mike pompeo going to north korea to get the three americans out. they will be looking for that

kind of opportunity. they will not just release this guy, particularly because he defected. >> thank you for sharing your insights. today former president's growing legal troubles, donald trump says he has received a letter indicating he is the target of a criminal investigation. federal prosecutors like jack smith will zero in on his actions in their investigation leading up to the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol. this also means trump might soon be charg. in florida, the pretrial hearing in the former president handling of classified documents ended on tuesday. the judge says she will be issuing a written ruling promptly. trump's attorneys urged the judge not to set a trial date or to delay it until after the 2024

election. extreme temperatures connue to sweep the glove and what scientists are calling the new normal. these heightened temperatures can pose dangerous health risks. the city of phoenix broke records with his 19th straight day of 110 degree dates. the record was last broken 49 years ago. as the city scorches, vulnerable populations, particularly the unhoused, face acute risk from the heat. >> last year i had heatstroke staying at the park during the day. i do not remember any of it. it still has not come back but woke up in an ice bath at the hospital. >> italy is alsooping with the health impacts of extreme heat. sophia is in sicily with more. >> has been extremely hot in sicily for the last few days. this is where two years ago they

has to temperature in europe was recorded. it was 48.8 degrees celsius. it could be exceeded in the next few days. italians are used to hot summers but not as hot, especially if you taken to account the fact thathese consecutive keyways have come suddenly and are having an impact on people's health. several hospitals in palermo are seeing a rise in the number of patients that have been admitted because of health problems caused by the heat. 20 cities in italy are under a red alert warning. that number will go up to 23 cities on wednesday. this heatwave could continue for the next 10 days in some parts of the country. that is why authorities are urging people to be careful. >> climate change is not only impacting health but also

intensifying disasters like wildfires. in switzerland, firefighters are battling a forest fire that has forced more than 200 people to evacuate. officials say they could take days or weeks to quell. and greece has experienced dual tragedies. in one town, roughly 1200 children were evacuated from due to wildfires. southeast of athens, police arrested a man suspected of starting another blaze. >> several fires have made their way through mainland greece. here where i am, i am southeast of athens, you can see that wildfires have torn through these hills. you can see the birch trees around me. you can see the ash on the ground, but if you were here with me, you would be able to smell it as well. this player that has torn through these hills is suspected to have -- higher that is torn

through these hills is suspected to have been done by a man who has now been arrested. but the consequences are the same as wildfires. it is decimation across these hills. we spoke to firefighters who help evacuate people in the hills who were living in different parts. they have been told that they can now return home, but, as temperatures continue to grow, because the peak is set to hit in the next few days, they have said that these wildfires could not be the last in mainland greece. >> israel's president is in the u.s. this week. you sent out earlier with joe biden. -- he sat down earlier with joe biden. israel faces criticisms over proposed changes about its judicial branch. today, the president readme

assurances to joe biden, saying the country is going through some growing pains. >> let me reiterate that israeli democracy is sound, strong, resilient. >> this friendship is unbreakable. together, we are going to bring more stability to the middle east. and a lot of hard work, we have got more to do, but there is progress. >> tomorrow, the israeli president will address a joint session of congress. we will have full coverage. new satellite images out of belarus showed that a large convoy of suspected wagner writers have arrived. they are shown entering a military base in southern belarus, about 64 kilometers from the capital. wagner has now started to move

personnel in large numbers. the camp appeared shortly after an agreement to end the mutiny in late june. part of the agreement we were the involved -- reportedly involved wagner trips agreeing to relocate to belarus. you can see convoys heading toward the camp. another image taken on the same day shows the envelope arriving. bbc -- the convoy arriving. bbc has kontaveit -- countered 31 -- efforts to understand and regulate artificial intelligence continue both here in the u.s. and across the globe. in new york, the un security council held its first ever talks addressing the potential threat ai poses to global security and peace. here in washington, the house

held a hearing on the barriers of -- and potential dangers ai poses on the battlefield. earlier i spoke with seth moulton. houseman, it is great to have you. when we spoke last, we expressed hope that congress could move would to prevent some of the most dangerous uses of ai in warfare. do you think congress is closer to doing that? >> i have said that that is what congress should focus on. it is difficult for congress to move quickly on anything. might basic argument because congress moves so slow, we will not be able to regulate the whole industry effectively. we will never keep up with the pace of technological change. we should focus on the most dangerous cases, some of these big cases like using ai in warfare. this is a place where we should

focus our efforts and frankly, no, we are not even quickly enough. >> there are concerns about the u.s. rivals pulling ahead. alexander wang testified. he was active -- ask about where china stands on ai in warfare. >> if you compare the percentage of their overall military investment, the pla is spending somewhere between 1% to 2% of their overall budget in artificial intelligence, where is the doi is spending somewhere between .1% and .2%. >> w are not necessarily behind in terms of results but we are certainly behind in terms of outfront investment. that is an important measure of where we are going to be in the future. if i heard that the u.s. were equaling china investment, spending more percent to 2% of the overall budget, i would s

that that is too low because of the importance that ai is going to have in our world and warfare as well in the future. i think that the fact that we are not even at that level, that china is so far ahead of us is a real problem and something need to change. >> telus about some of the uses and warfare that worry you the most. >> we have heard of some doomsday scenarios where a computer can take over and can literally start doing things we do not want it to do. that is not out of the realm of possibility, but in the short term, imagine weapons systems used by our adversaries do not have the guardrails that we put in place and we go to war, limiting collateral damage and civilian casualties. look at the way putin has waged war in ukraine. he does not care about collateral damage and civilian casualties. he is indiscriminately bombing

shelters in neighborhoods. if you were given ai enabled weapons, he would not put any -- if he were given ai enabled weapons, he would not put any guardrails in place. i am not so focused on what the u.s. and our allies to do, we will apply the same moral principles that we apply to other weapon systems, but what really concerns me is what putin and xi jinping might do. >> alexander wang added in the hearing that he thinks discussions about ai are about something more fundamental than warfare. this is what he said. >> k.i.a. is powerful technology that underpins nearly everything that we do from an economic and military standpoint. is critical that we think about how the not only protect our citizens from the risks of artificial intelligence but also ideologies and democracy. >> 20 make about? >> he has hit the nail on the

head. this will be such a pervasive technology which will do a lot of good for the world. it is going to dramatically advance cancer therapies. it is going to lengthen our lives because of the medical advancements. it will be great in a lot of ways, but if we do not focus on regulating and protecting against these most dangerous uses of ai, it could not only hurt us. it could change the way we govern ourselves, the values of our society. it could give a leg up to autocrats like seating paying who are not just practicing our talk pretty -- autocracy at home but trying to export it. >> so what do you think can be done in terms of legislation in congress? >> i like to compare the ai revolution to the nuclear revolution. we developed the atomic bomb. it had remarkably destructive

power but has found uses in cancer therapy, power, these are good things. so we established the nuclear regulatory commission so that we do not have then -- an accident but we also established international frameworks for arms control and to prevent new proliferation. we have to do both here as well. what you hear about in washington today is the domestic legislation, the analogy to the nuclear regulatory commission to govern how ai is used. but more important is developing the international frameworks. i called for a geneva convention around the use of ai that will regulate not just how we use it or our allies but our adversaries as well. >> and final question about some news from the pentagon, that a u.s. service member willfully

crossed into north korea. the company believes he is in north korean custody. what should the u.s. government do? >> get him back. this is a soldier who had disciplinary problems to begin with. this is a bad thing to do. it is at risk not only his life but the lives of other americans. feasible answer to your question is we should get -- the civil answer to your question is we should get him back. >> thank you so much. and one more aspect of that extreme heat -- it is an orange dust bowl blowing over phoenix. the wall was pushed by showers and thunderstorms monday. the national weather service says these are unexpected, unpredictable and can sweep across the desert landscape at any time. thank you for watching world news america. ♪

narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

introducing a technological achievement so advanced... it rivals the moon landing. wow! ok. rude. that's one small step for man.

one giant leap for mankind. ♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is away. on the newshour tonight, donald trump says he's the focus of a special counsel investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, compounding the former president's legal troubles. the slow pace and minimal gains of ukraine's counteroffensive against russia prompt questions about military strategy. and despite legally owning rights to much of the colorado river, indigenous tribes in the west are largely cut off from accessing its water. >> we want to be able to have water rights that are secured, that we can be able to develop, to be able to close the clean water access gap. ♪