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erika: i love seeing interns succeed, i love seeing them come back and join the engagement teams and seeing where they go from there, i get to watch their personal growth, it makes my heart happy. (laughs) 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" s america. s russia issues a strong warning to the u.s., vowing an appropriate response if ukraine uses u.s. long-range missiles to strike its territory. as donald trump's pick for attorney general matt gaetz comes under scrutiny, we speak to lawmakers.

a convoy of more than 100 aid trucks is looted in gaza. ♪ sumi: very warm welcome to world news america. u.s. president joe biden is calling on global allies to continue support for ukraine one day after his administration approved the use of long-range missiles for limited strikes within russian borders. it is a major u.s. policy shift that ukraine's foreign minister calls a game changer on the battlefield. ukrainian forces were already using the army tactical missile system, but only on russian targets within occupied ukrainian territory. this move will vastly increase their reach. it can strike four times farther than russian missiles at nearly 190 miles, 300 kilometers. being able to carry bombs up to 500 pounds, they can target

russian infrastructure and weapons storage facilities. this is what president biden said at the g20 summit. >> we all have to work to end the conflicts and crises that are eroding security around the world. united states support ukraine's sovereignty. sumi: the kremlin has suggested moscow will view any long-range missile attack not as conducted by ukraine, but rather from the u.s. itself. it accused of the biden administration of escalating the conflict by adding oil to the fire. in a statement, russian foreign ministry said kyiv's use of long-range missiles to attack our territory would represent the direct involvement of the u.s. and its satellites in hostilities against russia, as well as a radical change to the essence of the conflict. russia's response will be appropriate and tangible. our russia editor steve rosenberg has more. steve: a weeks ago, i sat down

with the leader of barus. he brought up this subject and he used as an example the iranian-backed houthi rebels. he said be very careful with this question of long-range missiles. he said what would happen if the houthis came to vladimir putin and asked for missiles, missile systems that could be used to target aircraft carriers, he said as an example. inferred that this idea was on the kremlin's radar of one way of reacting if europe or america decides to remove frictions on the use of these long-range missiles. we have not heard anything like that the last couple of days from putin, but his press secretary did refer everybody back to his comnts. that is when vladimir putin, as he sat down with media chiefs, came up with this idea of arming

western adversaries. it's possible that could happen, but he also knows that in a couple of months time, donald trump is coming back to the white house. donald trump, an american president who has said quite nice things about vladimir putin. he has praised him as a smart president. clearly admires to a large extent vladimir putin. and donald trump, the u.s. leader who has spoken quite critically about continuing military assistance to ukraine. putin knows that soon donald trump will be in the white house, and one russian paper suggested that once trump does get his feet und the table, he could reverse joe biden's decision on the long-range missiles. sumi: this ease in restrictions comes at a critical time for ukraine as its resources grow scarce. russia's defense ministry says its troops gained more land in eastern ukraine after capturing a region.

and russia's offensive continued overnight in a missile attack on a residential building, killing at least 11 civilians. on monday morning, 10 more ukrainians were killed by a russian airstrike on a separate residential area in the southern coastal town of odesa. re tha100 people were injured in both incidents. the former u.s. ambassador to nato told us earlier what signals she thinks president biden's loosening of restrictions since two russia and ukraine. >> i think it should have been done earlier, but it is better late than never. that could be a signal to putin that he's going to have significant casualties if he continues what just happened the last few days, which isn much worse barrage of attacks on the ukraine people. it could be that the biden administration is saying knock it off or this is going to get worse.

and i think that is a good signal and i think that would put the ukraine people in a for negotiation that would end, the war. putin says he wants to end the war. and it's in everyone's interest to try to have a clear path. now, whether the incoming administration is talking to the biden administration about this, i don't know. i was fairly hopeful when the president met with the president-elect that they would be having a smooth transition. i don't know how far that is going to go, but it will be a good start. sumi: here in the u.s.,he house ethics committee will meet this week to discuss and potentially release its report on former florida congressman matt gaetz. he's donald tmp's pick for attorney general. gaetz resigned days before the

committee was originally set to vote on the matt. the report reviews various allegations, including claims of sexual misconduct, use of illicit drugs, bribes, misuse campaign funds, and sharing inappropriate images on the house floor. all claims that the former representative has denied. house republicans, including speaker mike johnson, have argued against the reports released. here is speaker johnson speaking about the report on fox news. >> regarding the report, there's a very important reason for the tradition and the rule that we always have followed and that is that we don't issue investigations and ethics reports on people who are not members of congress. i'm afraid that would open a pandora's box because the jurisdiction of the ethics committee is limited to those that are serving in the institution. that is its very purpose and i think this would be a breach of protocol that could be dangerous sumi: donald trump's transition team continues to take shape. in recent appoints, trump

minated brendan carr to have the federal communications commission. the agency regulates communications in the u.s., including broadcast, telephone, radio and satellite communications. carr wrote a chapter on the agency in the conservative project 2025 playbook, suggesting it should rain in big tech and promote national security. let's talk about the latest with congressman greg landsman, a democrat from ohio. good to have you on bbc. i want to start with the house ethics committee. they are set to meet on wednesday to talk about the report into matt gaetz. you have said they should release the report. why should they if he's no longer a member of congress? rep. landsman: well, he is trying to be appointed to the role of attorney general, the chief law enforcement officer for the united states of america. but even if he wasn't, they did the investigation, it is a bipartisan investigation. he will run for other offices. it is just basic transparency.

released the report and let people decide. the allegations, of course, are very, very bad. and i cannot think of any reason why you would, the speaker would try to sit on the report. it will come back and be a problem for him. i can't imagine any voter sitting there thinking this is a good idea. this guy has been accused of having sex with a child. and the speaker sitting on that report, that is terrible. sumi: we should say that matt gaetz does deny any wrongdoing but i want to ask you about the otr nominees. you've also criticized robert f. kennedy, jr. as the health and human services secretary, especially on the statements he's made on vaccines, but he said he is not anti-vaccine and said he would not try to ban vaccines under the trump administration. why do you think he would be the wrong choice? rep. landsman: so, this is a question of who benefits and who gets hurt.

trump benefits. he's got a loyal partner in rfk, jr., and that is good for him. what about us? we have kids, my wife and i have two children, a 13-year-old and almost 15-year-old. what happens when kids come to school and they are not vaccinatedth an ande tbreak ofr worse polio? even if you say up will not ban these things but say they are no longer required an insurance does not require or pay for the vaccine, what happens then? all of a sudden -- there's a situation where this happened and children died in samoa. loyalty to trump should not mean we all get measles. sumi: i guess the broader picture, donald trump, republicans, they waon decisively. they won also to put in place people who would implement that agenda, including people like matt gaetz and rfk, jr.

do you think this is the message of what voters said they wanted? rep. landsman: no. not at all. i think voters, 65% of americans said the country was moving in the wrong direction. trump got about 51%, so it was not a big number. i believe most people voted for trump because they either like trump or, in terms of the difference makers, they voted for trump because they are frustrated with the status quo. the fact he didn't get 65% even though 65% of americans are frustrated with the economy, politics. a lot of those folks said we would vote for trump because maybe he will change things but we don't like the chaos, the extremism. i think all of this stuff backfire, but not until it actually causes chaos and hurts people. and picks like these, which will lead to real consequences for the american people, will backfire because people will get hurt. sumi: congressman, democrats are still figuring out how to right

the ship after the election. you won in a state that is reliability republican the last few election cycles. how did you do so? rep. landsman: by being normal. by being pragmatic. by being bipartisan. building a lot of trust with voters. you know, i am abt as regular and as normal as it gets. i think that is what people are looking for. look, trump won, there's no question. but, democrats will end up picking up a seat or two in the house. that is not insignificant. so, a lot of us who ran in these competitive places, we represent a kind of normal, pragmatic group of leaders. i suspect that's where the majority of americans are. and given that option, without the burden of incumbency which is what i think cost kamala

harris the election, she would have done much better -- you would have won. sumi: we will lve it there for today but thank you for joining us on bbc news. rep. landsman: thank you. sumi: joining me now live is senator ron johnson, a republican from wisconsin. good to have you with us today. thank you for making time. i want to go back to the discussion we were having with the congressman previously about matt gaetz's nomination to the attorney general in the trump administration and whether this report from the house ethics committee should be released. what is your thought on this? sen. johnson: i will let the house decide that. regardless of whether we get that report or not, there will be fbi background checks. representative gaetz has denied the charges. we have a process and we will go through that process and make a determination once we see the evidence. sumi: that's the question, seeing the evidence. your colleague in the senate, republican markwayne mullin told

nbc news he trusts donald trump's decision-makingbut he thinks they should have access to the report because the senate has to advise and consent to these cabinet members. do you want to see if there was possibly some wrongdoing? sen. johnson: again, whether we get the house report or not, there are other reports that are issued. generally, fbi background checks. the fact that the department of justice did not decide to press charges. the fact that matt gaetz has denied these allegations. again, we will see how this process plays out. i have a very open mind. my bias will be to support president trump's nominees. sumi: from what you know about matt gaetz, do you think he's qualified to be the attorney general? sen. johnson: i don't know him that well. he served the house, i serve the senate. i really not had any detailed discussions with him. i have seen him in action in terms of being a very capable advocate for his position. i am sure that is why president trump nominated him.

sumi: if you look at the cabinet that donald trump is putting together, of course, they have to go through senate confirmations, but what do you think these picks tell us about the priorities for this second trump administration? sen. johnson: president trump means it when he says promises made, promises kept. he's dead serious about trying to save this nation. focus on middle income americans. the forgotten men and women, the working men and women of america that we need to rely on to make this country great again. we saw that in president trump's first term. i don't know a president who was more faithful in terms of honoring the promises he made. elections matter. he made a lot of promises. people relied on that and gave him a pretty resounding victory. sumi: including in your state of wisconsin where he won. from what you saw from voters there, what do you think should be the priority on day one for this second trump administration? sen. johnson: secure the border.

get inflation completely under control. we don't want the dollar devaluing any further. i would also say the third issue really was just the completely crazy and insane social issues that the democrats pushed on americ boys competing in girls sports, like that was normal. boys being able to use the girls locker room and the bathroom. both americans reject that. at was pushed relentlessly by the democrats. i think that cost them dearly in the election. sumi: i do want to ask you today about the news we have seen on ukraine, that president biden has now given the green light for ukraine to use long-range missiles into russian territory. we have seen russia say there will be an appropriate response. what do you think about this decision? sen. johnson: president biden has blown this from the onset. russia should never have invaded ukraine. we could have prevented that by saying we will not offer nato membership to ukraine.

that was a redline for prudent. -- putin. biden was not smart enough to understand that redline. he has mismanaged this war from the get-go. putin will not lose this war. the only way this war ends is by negotiation. every day that goes by, that settlement gets worse and worse as more ukrainians die. that has been the main result of the announcement of use of the missiles. putin launched a massive attack on their infrastructure, destroyed more of ukraine. the sooner this war ends, the better off the ukrainian people. sumi: but at what terms? ukraine does not want this war to end in terms in which they would have to cede a lot of their territory. sen. johnson: more and more ukraine being destroyed as the stalemate drags on. i will not like the settlement, ukraine will not like the settlement, but this war h two end or more ukrainians die and more of ukraine gets destroyed. sumi: thank you for joining us on bbc news tonight.

sen. johnson: have a good evening. sumi: now, a u.s. envoy is expected in lebanon on tuesday to join the cease-fire talks between israel and hezbollah. the visit is expected to build on a u.s. cease-fire proposal submitted last week. washington has yet to confirm the visit. cease fire talks come as israel continues its offensive in lebanon. schools in beirut are closed today after strikes in the central part of the capital killed six people. hezbollah officialsay its media chief, one of the few remaining public faces, was among those killed. a lebanese army post in the south of the country was also hit, killing one soldier and wounding three others. as strikes in northern gaza have killed and wounded dozens. the palestinian health ministry says 76 palestinians have been killed in airstrikes in the past when he four hours. a local civil defense agency said one strike on a five story residential building killed at least 34 people on sunday. the israeli military says it

consisted of several overnight strikes on what it called terrorist targets in the area. meanwhile, aid groups essay palestinians are struggling to get basic aid. unrah says at least 97 aid trucks are missing from a 109 truck convoy sending aid to gaza on sunday. witnesses say it was attacked by masked men with grenades. frank gardner has more from jerusalem. frank: of the two armed conflicts that israel is engaged in, one in gaza another in lebanon, there appears to be a better chance of trying to get a cease fire with hezbollah in lebanon. the u.s. envoy is due to becoming but currently delaying the trip, waiting for some clarification from the lebanese government as to whether they can accept a cease-fire proposal that has been put to them. that would involve hezbollah, the militant organization in southern lebanon, moving its forces north of the river, well

away from the bord with israel. because israel has made it clear, they want their residence to be able to return safely to northern israel and not be rocketed by hezbollah. hezbollah wants a guarantee that israel will leave lebanon and won't keep returning to lebanon. israel says they cannot give that guaranty because they want to have the right to act inside lebanon if they think their security is threatened. that is the sticking point at the moment. when it becomes clearer, i think we will see the envoy coming on a plane, coming to the middle east and there is a prevailing wind. because the lebanese want this war to end. israel would like to wrap this up. i think there's a good chance that by the end of the year, we will see the conflict in lebanon at least caused, if not stopped altogether. sumi: in tel aviv, paramedics say at least five people were injured after shrapnel fell from

an intercepted misle from lebanon. in northern israel, the ambulance service says a woman is dead and several injured after another rocket struck residential building. the strike comes as prime minister netanyahu addressed israel's government on monday. his speech focused on his new relationship with donald trump and returning hostages held by hamas back to israel. he added a cease-fire between the two countries would only be reached under fire. >> we are currently talking about negotiations and possible arrangements that the americans are leading. once again, i want to emphasize my great appreciation for the usa and say that in my conversations with president-elt donald trump, i must say we did not talk about the methods of operation. we did not discuss policies. there is time until the president will take office, but i can say that we ci to i on the iranian threat -- see eye to e on the iranian threat. sumi: toxic smog in delhi is at severe levels.

across much of northern india, pollution levels are more than 60 times higher than the world health organization recommends. the causes include farmers illegally burning straw, along with factory smoke and traffic fumes. the last two weeks in pakistan, a city has seen unprecedented levels of air pollution with doctors telling the bbc they are concerned many more people will need hospital treatment because of it. the local government says they haveot anticipated this level of toxic smog. caroline davis reports. >> it was known as the city of gardens. now, you can hardly see the green through the gray. in the last two weeks, air quality has hit unprecedented toxic levels. some cannot escape it. >> we are compelled to go out because we have children. if we stay home, what will we do? we are laborers, we need to earn to be able to beat. -- eat. >> respiratory problems, eye

infections, asthma. this ward estimates they have seen up to 25% more patients and winter is almost here. >> in coming one or two weeks, it will affect major cities in pakistan. i'm expecting there will be a significant search and respiratory diseases. >> the markets are far from empty, but some have no choice but to stay inside. arum has three children, two with special needs. schools are closed, so are the parks. >> they are greatly disturbed by the haphazard nest because they don't have anything to do. it is very difficult to survive in this environment. >> pakistan sees smog most years. the provincial governments insists it was trying to control it but had not prepared for this level. >> the air quality index is out of control. i must admit that it is actually

a surprise for us. we were not ready to face such kind of surge in aqi. >> change requires money and political will. if pollution outpaces pakistan's efforts, lahore and the millions who live here may stay trapped in these toxic clouds. carolyn davis, bbc news. sumi: let's get a quick look at some other headlines. roblox has announced users under the age of 13 will not be able to direct message each other. it is one of several new child safety features the videogame creators are introducing to give parents more control over their child's gaming. it is the most popular gaming platform for eight to 12-year-olds in the u.k. at least one person has died in the u.s. from coli that has been found in carrots. whole foods, trader joe's, walmart, target and other major grocery stores are recalling organic and baby carrots from the shelves.

the cdc reported at least 39 cases across 18 states. 15 were hospitalized. officials say while infected products are no longer in the stores, consumers should toss what they have at home or return it for a refund. that is our program today. you can always find more on the days news on our website, bbc .com/news. and to see what we are working on at any time, check us out on your favorite social media site. for all of us in washington, announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... 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 i'm geoff bennett. amna: will the chamber serve as a check on trump's power or lead the way for his agenda? geoff: national security advisor jake sullivan discusses the uncertainty of the wars in gaza and ukraine is the biden administration's way to a second trump presidency. >>