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life well planned. brett: you know as someone coming out of college it can be very nerve-racking not knowing what to expect, whether you'll like your job or not, whether you'll make friends, whether you'll fit in, and here i feel like it's so welcoming and such an inclusive place to work, you just feel like you're valued. 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: and now, "bbc news" >> i'm caitriona perry in washington. this is bbc world news america. controversy around president elect trump's cabinet nominations continues as the house speaker comes out against releasing an ethics report on former congressman matt gaetz. at least 15 lebanese rescue

workers were killed in israeli airstrikes overnight. as israeli bombardments continued around beirut for a fourth consecutive day. the united nations says afghani's are among the top asylum-seekers in the world. the bbc has a look at the difficult journey many face trying to escape the region. ♪ >> welcome to world news america. u.s. speaker of the house mike johnson has strongly opposed the release of a report investigating misconduct allegations against former florida congressman matt gaetz. matt gaetz, president elect trump's nominee for attorney general, resigned from the house of representatives on wednesday shortly after donald trump announced his nomination. resigning from congress means an ongoing house ethics committee investigation is effectively

halted as only current members can be investigated. the house ethics committee canceled a friday meeting where members were expected to vote on whether to release the report's findings. several senators who will vote on matt gaetz's confirmation have called for the report to be handed over to the upper chamber. speaker johnson said his call against it was founded in house tradition. >> speaker doesn't control the ethics committee. i expressed my opinion we release it because it would open a dangerous pandora's box. >> donald trump's nomination of vaccine skeptic and independent politician robert f. kennedy, jr. has the country -- as the country's next health and services secretary has drawn criticism. many have come out against his nomination. a short while ago, mr. trump's former vice president released a statement calling the nomination under abrupt departure from the strong pro-life stance taken under the previous trump

administration. if rfk junior is confirmed by the senate as the country's health secretary, he will oversee the fda and lead a health service programs like medicare and medicaid. millions of americans rely on these public insurance schemes to cover their health costs. meanwhile, in the last 24 hours, donald trump has received -- release more nominations. including doug burnham, tapped to be the country's interior secretary and head of the newly formed national energy council. it will consist of all departments and agencies concerned with domestic energy. mr. trump also appointed steven cheung to be his white house communications director. for more on all of these development, let's go to our correspondent who has been monitoring everything at mar-a-lago. what do we know about doug burgum? he's the latest appointment we've heard of. >> that announcement for doug

burgum for the interior secretary was scheduled for today. but donald trump leaked the news out himself when he was addressing an audience at mar-a-lago. doug burgum is the north dakota governor. a very wealthy businessman. he ran for the presidency himself. not really as a kind of maga figure, but he dropped out and fully threw his weight behind donald trump. that seems to have been paying off. he's been asked to do this top job. in terms of what the job means, he will be in charge of federal lands. he's also going to take on this role, what is being termed as an energy czar. i think what you will read into this is he will be expected to carry out donald trump's call to boost fossil fuelroduction. that of course sparking alarm amongst environmental groups who want this kind of land, these

federal lands protected. we heard donald trump speaking on the campaign trail talking about drill, baby drill. that was his mantra. i think it will be doug burgum's mission statement. >> we've heard a number of members of the republican party, past and present, and other politicians, speaking out about some of those whom donald trump has nominated. what is all of this going to mean for the chances of getting into the position of being confirmed? >> i think two of the appointments that stood out on the controversy stakes are robert f. kennedy, jr., to be the hel secretary. because of his history of vaccine skepticism and amplifying debunked health claims. and as well, matt gaetz for attorney general. so the u.s.' top prosecutor, we were talking about it a moment ago, he's facing this house there six -- house ethics committee investigation into

misconduct, alleged sexual misconduct. he denies wrongdoing. i have been speaking to conservative activists here in west palm beach who have been in mar-a-lago hearing donald trump speak, attending a conservative investors summit. despite the fact rfk junior's comments have sparked alarm among health experts, they worry it could lead to vaccine hesitancy, he seems to be enjoying support amongst the activists i spoke to. a bit more hesitancy about matt gaetz, when i asked people whether they back his nomination. but those nominations should be expected to go towards the senate for confirmation. those who support donald trump say he has won the mandate to put forward the candidates he thinks are right for the job. i think others might be emphasizing what they want to say is proper scrutiny on this process. >> jess parker in florida, thank

you. let's talk about all of the weeks developments. there have been quite a few. let's bring in our panel, a republican strategist and democratic strategist. thank you for being with us. jess was mentioning the issue of scrutiny. do you think this ethics committee report should be released, at least even to those under committee in the senate who will be holding these hearings? >> when the confirmation process starts, there are background investigations that will begin. the question is will the work the house has already done be part of that investigation? that is tbd. the house investigation process is a very specific process that is entirely different than a normal background check for a nominee. i think there will certainly be senators who will want to understand what the scope of that report is. it is unclear if the actual report, which is yet unfinished,

will be released without a vote of the ethics committee. >> do you think it should be? >> it should be considered. given the unknowns around what was in the report, it will be problematic for the way the house works to release it without a bipartisan vote of the members of the committee. >> we should point out a criminal investigation into matt gaetz fnd there was no case to answer and no charges brought against him. this is a separate thing and could exonerate him. do you think it should be made public? >> absolutely. more important, a lot of republican senators should believe it should be shown to them. whetr or not it is public it is different. let's be clear, it will become public. it will be leaked. but in terms of official channels, they should be able to look at it in a closed setting, which i think is fair and can be

something we replicate for others as well. you may know want it publicly released, but the senators ought to be able to consider it as they make the decision. as they consider a lot of things, some of which are public, some of which behind closed doors. >> another issue on the senate confirmation process, we have heard a lot of discussion about bypassing it and holding recess appointments president trump -- president elect trump wants to see happen. that is incredibly rare. is it something that could happen or should happen? >> i think it could happen. the confirmation process in this day and age, the speed in which the senate operates generally, i think the president was frustrated by it during his first term. i think there's a lot of senators, new senators who never gone through this process who are uncomfortable without being able to participate and vet these different people

potentially going into the administration. do you go to a recess type appointment where you go through the normal channels, meaning you do the interviews and you go in and have discussions? maybe. i think -- the president has 53 republican senators who i think in large part have bought into his agenda and realize they would have -- not have the majority of president trump hadn't run. i think they will get confirmed regardless of w they do it. >> there are 53 senators who are in favor of the president's agenda and believe he has the right to select his own cabinet. they also believe in the senate rules and the conitution and are vested in their own responsibilities. which is advice and consent. a recess appointment is really going around that for an emergency situation. it is not meant to say i've got controversial people you will not provide advice and consent for, so i'm going to get around you. that is unconstitional,

undemocratic. it is not even what the american people voted for. i think while it is definitely possible, he's going to run into some trouble. if he does, some senators might choose to oppose him on people they may have confirmed but don't like the process. >> when you are talking about controversial pix and so on, i want to talk about robert f. kennedy, jr.. he has some policies. even the president has said in speeches me and bobby don't agree on everything. but some of those things around denying vaccines, fluoride in the water and so on, are they now the policies of the republic party? is that what rfk junior brings? >> no. i think whomever is confirmed to run hhs is there to carry out the president's agenda. i think it is good to have disagreements and discussions ultimately about policies hjh will -- hhs will implement. of which there are many. it is not just fluoride, and not just vaccines.

hhs is one of the largest agencies within the federal government. >> we've heard mike pce raising conservative alarm bells over rfk's position on abortion. >> i think there's concerns on both sides. rfk junior was considered to be a memb of the obama administration's cabinet as well. he has bn around a long time. i think the confirmation and the vetting process will be significant with him. but the president did not just airdrop in rfk from out of nowhere. he has been with the president on the campaign sure through every battleground straight he want -- state that he won. i think he will be an important voice in the president's white house, regardless of if he's at hhs or not. i believe he will ultimately be confirmed. >> from the democratic perspective, is it good to see a former democrat and independent in the mix for president trump? that he's trained to be president for all people as he said? >> no. rfk is not a representative of

the democratic party. if there was a definition, he is fringe. i think there are questions about his stability and fitness for office, or an appointed role in this case. what is most concerning is donald trump i think has said do whatever you want to with health and human services. which means there is a real lack of a health care agenda for the nation. as my colleague said, hhs covers many things. including all of the implementation of your medicaid and medicare. and your marketplace coverage. that is the largest insurance company in the world. rfk, someone who has a worm in his head according to him, is implementing. that is concerning. i think those are going to be some questions about his fitness for office. he might be a candidate for a recess appointment, someone who cannot get through regular order because he's not confirmable. >> we will have to wait and see with this and what happens to

the president-elect and his team. thank you both for being here. israel's military has ramped up a tax around beirut with the fourth consecutive day of attacks in lebanon. the suburbs have been pounded by scattered strikes through the day prayed one building was flattened. it is not yet known how many people were affected. further northeast, officials say at least 15 rescue workers were killed in an israeli airstrike on a building while they were waiting to be dispatched to help civilians. the u.n. he military in office in lebanon said is really airstrikes in densely's -- populated areas across the alarming rise of civilianan deaths. lebanese officials said hezbollah is reviewing a cease-fire proposal put forward on thursday by the u.s. ambassador to lebanon. that follows talks with lebanon's prime minister and the iranian supreme leader's top

advisor on friday. which said it would support hezbollahnd vote for a swift solution to end the conflict. it comes while in gaza, at least 26 people were killed on friday in attacks that included -- a designated safe zone. the reports the israeli defense forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment. let's talk about all of those develop its with former u.s. special envoy frank lowenstein. thank you for joining us on the program once again. let's start with gaza and we will talk about lebanon in a moment. there have been talks continuing in qatar with a view to securing a cease-fire hostage release deal in gaza. what is the likelihood of anything coming from that? >> i think we are very unlikely to see a cease-fire in gaza anytime in the foreseeable future. therare still thousands of hamas fighters operating in the south.

they show no interest in a cease-fire or releasing palestinian visitors. we can be looking at a long-term counterinsurgency. i don't think hamas is of any mind to give up. i'm not even sure who's in charge over there at this point. we could be looking at a long, hard road in gaza. >> the decision from the state department to supply military aid to israel, saying it felt it was making steps to improve the humanitarian crisis in gaza. that is the assessment it had asked israel to make, and assessment all of the eight agencies working in gaza disagree with. has that endorsement from the state department reduced any incentive on israel's part to do a deal at this point? >> i don't think the israelis were ever particularly concerned biden was going to cut off military assistance. he did not do it before when he had an opportunity in april and there was no pcentage in him doing that. the israelis probably did the minimum they could to allow biden to proceed.

from a president's perspective, it would have impacted his legacy to support israel in the war without changing anything on the ground because trump would have disbursed it right away. >> you have a lot of experience in negotiations and so on in the middle east. when you look at what is happening in lebanon, the u.s. proposal has been passed t hezbollah. iranian officials are involved in making a push to get a deal to happen. what is your assessment to that? >> i can see a way forward on a cease-fire in lebanon. i think the israelis are getting close to achieving their military objectives at destroying a lot of hezbollah military capabilities, decimating their leadership. in order to achieve their political aim, it would probably require an agreement with hezbollah to stop firing across the border. i can see the interim agreement across the biden administration that would have a 45 to 60 day cease-fire where they would work out the final modalities.

>> on the role iran is playing, cbs are reporting elon musk met iran's u.n. ambassador in new york earlier this week. given how close elon musk is to president-elect trump, what is your view of that meeting having taken place? what may have been achieved there, whether ihappened at all? >> it doesn't surprise me. i think trump has a bit of a contradiction on his hands when it comes to iran. his party and me in particular have been hawkish. he really ran on an america first policy of getting out of wars in the region and really containing the violence over there as best he could. the way forward would be to increase sanctions on iran and threaten military force, which may work better than in the past. but the easiest path would be if they can come to some kind of understanding on that. i don't think there would be any formal agreement, but i can

imagine an informal agreement where they've decided to step down a little bit. >> you on musk has not been given a foreign policy role. he's going to be involved in cuts to the civil service and so on. when you look at the foreign policy team for donald trump, do you think there will be a noticele change in the direction of u.s. foreign policy in relation to the middle east? >> i don't think there will be any dramatic changes. i thick marco rubio is a fairly sensible guy. he will continue to do much of what president biden will do. the tone will be different, but i don't see big changes. what trump cares about the most is what is in the best interest of trump. if he sees an opportunity to make a deal with saudi arabia on normalizing relations, that would become their top priority. >> frank lowenstein, former u.s. special envoy. thank you for talking to us on bbc news. >> thank you for having me. >> afghans are the second

largest group of migrants coming to the u.k. illegally in small boats and among the largest grps of asylum-seekers in the world according to the u.n. since the taliban took control of afghanistan's government, a third of the population is struggling with food insecurity and women have been banned from working or attending school. there are thousands attempting to flee the country every day. but escaping the region has become harder than ever this year as neighboring countries, including pakistan, iran, and turkey, are cracking down on illegal migration from afghanistan. our south asia correspondent reports from afghanistan and the u.k.. >> in afghanistan run by the taliban, one third of the people are struggling to eat. women live under brutal restrictions. and those who worked for the former military fear for their safety.

it is why afghans are among the biggest groups fleeing their homes. according to the u.k. and other parts of the world. this former military officer is working hit -- risking his life to speak to us. he's tried three times to make the perilous journey out of afghanistan. >> i keep trying to flee, even if i lose my life. our circumstances are such that we are dying every moment. >> we drove to get to where the officer started his journey. for which he sold his home and his wife's jewelry to pay the nearly $4000 charge. >> it is from this bus stop many of the people we have spoken to have told us they've taken buses to the western border with iran, where they met up with smugglers. from there on at each point, they pass from one people smugglers to another as they try and make their way from iran to europe.

this is one of the main routes out of the country. afghans waiting to slip into iran on foot. a crossing that has become particularly dangerous. a month ago, iran was accused of discriminant lease shooting afghan migrants. this video verified by the bbc. of the injured and dead. if they make it through iran, migrants must cross this border wall into turkiye. a smuggler puts a ladder against the a ring inside, cuts the razor wire to make a path. many break their limbs making the jump. this is video from last winter. run, run the smuggler shouts. don't be scared. that people are willing to endure this is testament to how desperate they are to fleeing. on the other side of the wall, the afghans are pleading for

help. allegedly beaten by turkish forces. turkey has not responded to the allegations. the video can be independently verified by the bbc, sent to us by an afghan smuggler who we found after weeks of digging through their networks. you are endangering the lives of afghans, taking thousands of dollars from them, engaging in this criminal activity. how do you justify that? >> we don't force people to take these risks. we tell them they can be killed or imprisoned. what are we supposed to do when people tell us their family is going hungry in afghanistan? >> every step of the way, life-threatening choices to make. a father shows us the grave of his son. a former soldier who drowned from turkey to greece months

before his first baby was born. his father blames foreign countries fighting in afghanistan. >> we were in the trenches together. if we knew we would be abandoned and betrayed, no one would have joined hands with them. >> by the time afghan migrants make the final leg of the journey to the u.k., the risk of crossing the channel feels like nothing compared to what they have endured. in liverpool, we met an asylum who arrived in a small boat six month ago. a former government employee, she protested against the taliban. she could be illegible -- eligible for one of the schemes, but the safe, legal routes have simply been too slow. which means she's had to undertake a traumatic journey. >> i come from a well-known family. i've never done anything

illegal. i was afraid i would be detained and tortured in afghistan. >> coming here is a choice many afghans are forced to make because home can provide the most basic of human needs. safety, food, freedom. >> thank you for watching world news america. we leave you with the image of the supermoon scene across the world. the last chance to see when this year is today. it will peak tonight when the moon's orbit takes to its announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided ... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs.

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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. ♪ >> good evening. on the news hour tonight. another former challenger to president-elect donald trump joint's administration. while the house speaker pushes the ethics committee not to release a damning report on matt gaetz. >> the health community raises concerns off to rfk junior is chosen to lead the nation's health department. >> how western nations