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. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. ♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned.

narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> i am in washingtos is "bbc world news america." ukrainian president zelenskyy visits d.c. in a push to shore up critical support for wartime aid. : stops supplying weapons to ukraine as a trade dispute over grain exports escalates. the longtime chairman of fox news, rupert murdoch, plans to step down as chairman. the deadline looms for detroit's three largest automakers to make a deal or face new strikes. ♪

>> welcome to "bbc world news america." ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is ending a busy day here in washington. zelenskyy met with lawmakers on capitol hill, where he said he had strong dialogue about his country's progress on the battlefield with senators. he faced an uphill fight for support in the house of representatives. the house is divided over funding. speaker kevin mccarthy said he would not commit to putting a aid package to a vote after meeting with zelenskyy. after leaving capitol hill, zelenskyy, accompanied by his wife, paid tribute to the victims of the 9/11 attacks, laying a wreath at the pentagon memorial. he also met with military leaders, including defense secretary lloyd austin. then he headed onto the white house to meet with president joe biden to discuss the state of his country's counteroffensive and military support. for more on zelenskyy's visit, let's go live to our

correspondent standing by. good to see you. how critical is this visit for president zelenskyy? reporter: this is extremely important. that case has been put forward by both president zelenskyy and president biden. as president zelenskyy was arriving at the white house for those talks in the oval office, he said this was an incredibly important to meeting coming at 19 months into this war, at a time and take a look at the reality of the battlefield, the reality for ukraine, 43 russian missile strikes alone going from kharkiv to lviv, across the country. the case was clear. nevertheless, a very different visit to the one we saw in december from president zelenskyy. at that time, the ukrainian president held a joint address to congress, he received a standing ovation. that was coming up the back of some important gains on the battlefield for ukraine. this time the counteroffensive and its, have been warm limited

and we are starting to see some questions being asked about how much the united states can continue to supply this particular juncture of the war, when the white house, the biden administration, wants $24 billion to be signed off on. we know that with that potential government shutdown looming, that is very much in question tonight. sumi: tell us more about the politics at play on capitol hill. reporter: as you know, we are just around nine days out for that deadline when it comes to government spending. now, speaker of the house kevin mccarthy has said when it comes to aid for ukraine, this is not just about blank checks. he wants a debility. the american people should know about how ukraine plans to win this war. and saying that at the moment, $24 billion for aid, for weaponry, and humanitarian aid for ukraine, essentially would be a tall order. potentially it could be a separate bill altogether.

there are politics at play. also, the potential for kevin mccarthy's speakership to be in question. know the right flank of the republican party, and number of hardliners, are against further spending for ukraine. they are cognizant of the fact that there may be war fatigue, 19 months into this conflict. they also know we are at a juncture when essentially, america heads into an election year next year when there is renewed focus on domestic policies. people are starting to ask about how taxpayer money is being spent. sumi:. important point there. thank you so much for joining us with that update. questions remain in washington over how much more funding will be sent to ukraine. so far, congress has authorized more than $110 billion in aid. that breaks down to nearly $50 billion in military assistance.

another 28.5 billion dollars in economic support. some $13 billion in humanitarian aid. and just over $18 billion to boost u.s. defense industry capacity. earlier, i spoke about zelenskyy's visit with democratic congressman from illinois. i want to start with the ukrainian president's visit to washington. we know he met with congressional leaders. . you did not with him personally. what message do you think he was able to convey? >> i think he conveyed the urgency of the situation, making sure had what they need to continue their progress on the battlefield. they have made some progress, some meaningful progress recently. we need to make sure that they have what they require to continue that progress. sumi: south speaker mccarthy opted to not have ukrainian

president zelenskyy speak directly to all congressional members, but rather to hold private meetings. what message do you think that sense to president zelenskyy about where the u.s. stands? >> think speaker mccarthy supports, along with leader jeffries, further aid for ukraine. i'm going to defer to them in terms of their strategy on how best to persuade certain members to go along with further spending for ukraine. i think the message to mr. zelenskyy is that we stand united with him. and i think that we want to make sure that he has what he requires to continue progress on the battlefield. but at the same time, there is going to be concerns that need to be allayed probably in a private setting as opposed to a pop -- a public one. sumi: if we talk about those concerns, there was a poll showing 71% of republicans oppose new funding, while 61% of democrats support.

that is going to make president zelenskyy's ask to get this new funding bill, $24 billion, it will make that more difficult. is ukraine funding going to continue from the u.s. in the way we have seen in the past? >> i think it will. though it will probably require probably more oversight. it is going to require probably more verification of where the money is being spent and so forth. i think the american people want to spend the money, or want to give resources to the ukrainians. they want to make sure it is going to the intended purposes, and that it is effective. i think those are the types of provisions that might accompany further aid. sumi: i want to ask you about republicans holding up some spending bill passage. would americans -- do americans need to prepare for a shutdown? >> possibly. i hope not.

i think a shutdown would really hurt millions of people. at this point, i think speaker kevin mccarthy has adopted, i believe, a wrongheaded principle for the type of support that should govern any spending package that goes forward in the house. basically he wants to do it solely on republican votes. as you know, we are a closely divided house. i would just respectfully submit he should not stick to that principle, because if he does, he will be held up by hostages. hostage takers on the far right. on the other hand, if he decides he would like to invite democrats to the deliberations, into support the package, he will be much more successful in getting something passed. sumi: are you worried about the message it sends to the rest of the world if there is a u.s. government shutdown? >> sure. this is exactly what xi jinping, vladimir putin, and our adversaries would relish.

it is chaos, it is dysfunction, it is the federal government -- the u.s. government not being able to take care of business. and in a world where we are in a competition of ideas, of forms of governance, where we put forward that a democracy is really the best way to move forward, obviously, our adversaries like xi jinping and the chinese communist party will use whatever is happening here as evidence for why our model of governance and democracies don't work. sumi: thank you so much for your insights today. >> thank you so much. sumi: ukraine spending is not the only thorny issue on the agenda. the u.s. house of representatives failed to pass a procedural vote that would advance a defense department spending bill. . the move represents another stumbling block for kevin mccarthy who has been negotiating with house gop members, and it is not a good sign for the government shutdown that could begin next week.

i spoke with congressman don bacon of nebraska to get the republican perspective. very good to have you on bbc news. thank you for joining us. we have seen right wing part of the republican party block a defense bill from coming to the floor today. do you make of that? sen. bennet: can -- >> it is irresponsible. to have five people on the republican party oppose the bill , and by the way, all of them actually like the bill. they are voting no for other reasons. not what that bill. i call the dysfunction caucus. and i have encouraged the speaker to start reaching across the aisle. we need to do a bipartisan solution to this. you cannot count on these five to 10 republicans, out of our 222. they will never get to yes. they move the goal posts. you have to work with the senate anyways. let's start working across the aisle and get a bipartisan deal now. sumi: what do these republicans actually walked? rep. bacon: these five or 10

have a moving goal post. one wants a 30% reduction in a nondefense spending. they all have different goals out there. we only have a four seat majority. i thought it was a fools errand anyway to try to pursue 218 votes all the time. out of our 222. knowing that we have five or 10 members that don't want to be reasonable. in the end, you have to get a bipartisan agreement. we have a divided government. let's just do that now, instead of going through all of this mess, and then work a bipartisan deal with the senate. let's work with them right now, and our democratic colleagues in the house, and get a reasonable deal. i work in the problem solvers caucus. we have an agreement within 64 republicans and democrats on how to move forward. sumi: are you worried about the impact that this dispute is having on your party? rep. bacon: yes, i am.

i think these five people, today, and 10 other days, have hurt conservative -- the conservative movement, the conservative team has been undermined. and -- americans, we like conservative values. . we also like governance and effectiveness. what a lot of americans are seeing today is dysfunction. it is not happening because republicans versus democrats. it is because we have a small number of republicans who don't want to cooperate with the rest. i think we should learn from that. and we have to start governing. yes, these five people are hurting us. if it continues, it would continue going down this path, we will lose our majority. sumi: how likely do you think a shutdown is at this point? rep. bacon: i think it is still minimal odds. because most of us know, a shutdown would be unfathomable. it is not needed.

it is unnecessary. and we don't want it. 10 people should not be able to shutdown a house with 435 members. i have a bipartisan continuing resolution bill that will extend the government through 11 january, but also provides money for disaster relief, money for ukraine, which i believe is necessary. but also a very secure border policy that we need. sumi: we spoke to democrat rob -- a democratic representative who says that plays into the hands of our adversaries if there is a government shutdown. do you agree? rep. bacon: i do. i think it weakens us. it is five to 10 people who are very shortsighted. i assume they have noble goals in their own mind, but it is not wise. it is foolish. yes, it weak -- all of our military, for example.

you are asking people to work at our airports not being paid. but we have to keep flying. it is not the right thing to do for our country. we have a lot of people who work in the federal government that creates instability. they have to make mortgage payments, pay utilities, and it is not the right thing to do. sumi: congressman, thank you for joining us on bbc news. rep. bacon: thank you. sumi: poland, one of ukraine's staunchest allies, says it is not supply weapons to its neighbor. it is an escalation in a diplomatic dispute. our correspondent is in kyiv with more. james: this is a row about brain. between two loyal allies, really. you have poland, a staunch supporter of ukraine since the full-scale invasion, where it has been one of the biggest military backers. where it has allowed most of the western aid to arrive. at airbases and make their way over land into ukraine. you have an ally like poland

calling out with ukraine over grain. where ukrainian grain has flooded a polish market, to the annoyance of farmers. the polish then maintained a ban on ukrainian imports. and president zelenskyy accused poland of helping russia. poland, far from impressed with that statement, suggested it would review whether it would provide weaponry in the future. it seems, both sides are taking a more conciliatory tone as the hours have gone on. we are hearing both the president of poland and president zelenskyy are open to the idea of finding a solution. farming ministers and ukraine have agreed a licensing system for ukrainian grain in slovakia, which it brought in a similar ban, but it has been an extraordinary fallout. i think there are politics at play here, as well. because there is a polish election scheduled for next month.

in the words of one ukrainian opposition mp, he felt that there were better times for ukraine to be picking fights with poland, its loyal neighbor, at a time when russia is continuing its invasion of ukraine. sumi: talks between the united auto workers union and detroit's three largest automakers remain at a standstill, with a deadline looming for an escalation of the strengths. uaw sean fain said he would announce an extension of the strike barring "serious progress in talks." more than 12,000 of the union's 146,000 members are currently on strike. that number could increase. autoworkers are seeking higher pay and improved working conditions. the carmakers say they cannot run a sustainable business if they honor the union's demands. let's get more on this story with former united states secretary of labor. . great to have you on bbc news. uaw is saying if there is not progress five tomorrow, 12:00

p.m., that they would expand the strike. are you at all optimistic or has been some movement? robert: i don't think there has been much movement. from what i can hear, and what i can see, the two sides are far apart. the big three automakers are holding out. they don't want to cave in to the uaw. the uaw has been very consistent that there be major wage increases, cost-of-living increases, and also some benefiting increases. sumi: let's talk about those wage increases. general motors president mark ricin wrote an op-ed and said, the uaw demand for a 40% pay hike, that demand is "untenable." and that the automaker is countering with 20%, which would still be a record. is that a fair offer? robert: what is a fair offer? the ceos of the chief executive officers of the big three, they

have seen their paygo up about 44% over the last four years. it is not just them. it is also the top executives under them. there has been, in every major auto manufacturer, a huge amount of money going to buying back stocks. shares of stock, to keep the share prices up. which is a big subsidy to major investors. if i were a worker, i would say to myself, wait a minute, what about me? my wages over the last 10 years have gone up 6%. i am the last person who has been thought about here. and i have a lot of wages and benefits to make up for. sumi: i want to ask you about the industry on a whole. still in is the parent of chrysler, joined gm and ford in furloughing employees because of the ripple effects of the strike. . are you concerned about the impact these strikes could have more broadly on the industry? robert: yes, i am.

strikes, nobody likes strikes. anybody who thinks workers enjoy going up in strikes, they don't know anything about what is going on. workers sacrifice a great deal by going out on strike. if the strike funds don't make up for what the workers lose in pay. other workers are ancillary, combatant and all of this. they may lose their jobs at suppliers. this is not pretty. it is not enjoyable. what workers are doing is saying to themselves, look, we will take to sacrifices for the long-term gains that we think we are entitled to. this is a labor-management relations 101. sumi: we are seeing the first strike at the three big automakers and detroit and the more than 80 years since this union was founded. . why do you think we are seeing them come to this impasse now? robert: mainly because of all of the concessions that the uaw,

the workers made, starting in 2009, 2010, in the great recession, when gm was bailed out. when the automakers got a lot of benefits from the government. and the autoworkers said well, we will participate in that. since then, there has been a tremendous turnaround over the last few years. t automakers have done extraordinarily well, profitability is way up. a lot of workers are saying to themselves, look, we are forgotten here. and we have a lot of wages to make up for. sumi: as a former secretary of labor, what would you advise both sides negotiating table on how to go forward and try to reach some sort of agreement? robert: i think they'll commit goal has got to be, obviously,

agreement the question is what kind of agreement. the victory have to go further than they have gone so far. i think the uaw has got to understand that they can't put the big three in a totally uncompetitive position vis-a-vis foreign manufacturers and tesla. at the same time, what the uaw wants to do, as i understand it, is to bring all workers, autoworkers, up to the standards of the big three, rather than have the big three lower their standards to the rest of the auto industry. uaw and autoworkers used to be the best paid workers in american industry. what is happening over the last 50, 60 years, is that uaw has agreed not only to two tiered wages, where younger workers coming in for the first time get paid much less. also, they are not nearly the

benefits that they got before. sumi: robert reich, thank you for joining us on bbc news. robert: thank you. sumi: rupert murdoch says he will step down as chairman of. fox and news core chairman. he. will have over the reins to his son, a transition comes amid a turbulent year for fox news, including a $800 million settlement with the voting machine company dominion over the reporting of the 2020 presidential election. it has put good ways with longtime host tucker carlsen in april. our correspondent judson. . -- john sudworth is a new york. . it is great to see you. tell us about the impact rupert murdoch has had on this business. >> from his beginning in the industry, inheriting a singular australian newspaper from his father, he has built an extraordinary global empire. although at the age of 92, there

has long been speculation about this moment. now that it is here, there is a sense of shock. not just from his employees like those here at fox news, but around the world. because of the huge political cultural and social influence he was able to wield for so many decades through so many publications. i think it is in that context that people today are focusing on an extraordinary legacy after 70 days at the top of the media industry. saturday decades at the top of the media industry. sumi: what do we know about locklin murdoch murdoch rubottom -- locklin's plan for the business? john: we know very little about what shape and direction he is going to take the company. we certainly know what the challenges are. this is a cutthroat media environment. there is a battle for eyeballs

and clicks that fox and news corporation will find themselves focused on. as well as questions about what to do with some of those old legacy vehicles. the old print and paper, newspapers. how much longer can they keep those going? these are huge seismic questions. questions of policy, of practicalities, employee relations, for example. and what has happened today is mr. murdoch has singled his eldest son will be in the driving seat for most of those decisions. although we should say, although this undoubtedly marks the lining of his influence, he stays on in an advisory role. it is unlikely his influence goes completely. the statement he sent to employees made that clear. "my company's is in robust health, and so am i." sumi: very interesting story.

john sudworth in new york. thank you so much. remember, you can find more on the day's news on our website. to check out what we are working on, check it sometime twitter as well. thank you for watching "bbc 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. ♪ ♪

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. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. ♪ >> good evening. on the newshour tonight, ukraine's president tries to shore up support from congress that some republicans remain skeptical about providing more aid for the fight against russia. >> rupert murdoch steps down as the head of fox news raising questions about the future of right wing media in the u.s. >> than demand for raw materials used in electric picked --