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giving these former race dogs a real chance to win. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your purpose, and the way you give back. life well planned. 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" >> i'm caitriona perry in washington and this is bbc world news america. a transfer of power in syria. rebel fighters work towards a

transitional government one day after they toppled bashar assad. >> there is terrific risk and uncertainty right now but there is also opportunity. >> john kirby tells the bbc the balance of power is shifting in the middle east. after a six-day manhunt, police arrest a man in connection with the killing of health care ceo brian thompson. ♪ hello. it is working to build a transitional government after toppling bashar assad's regime. one of the leaders of the leading islamist faction is expected to be appointed as the interim prime minister. syria's deposed president has

been granted asylum by president vladimir putin in russia, a staunch ally of the assad regime. the rebels say their forces have established order almost over all of damascus. less than a week ago, the city of aleppo was captured in a shock offensive led by rebel forces who then went on to take the city of homs and finally damascus. the opposition was met with almost no resistance. across syria for a second day, clouds celebrated the end of the assad regime which would rule the country with an iron fist for decades. syrians have been pouring back into the country in their thousands from neighboring lebanon and jordan where many have been living in exile. israel has carried out more than 100 airstrikes in syria today according to the u.k. based human rights organization, the syrian observatory for human rights. that organization says israel has targeted military sites across the country including in

the city of damascus. israel says it is asking to stop weapons falling into the hands of extremists. our correspondent arrived in damascus this morning and has more on the situation. >> we have heard some massive explosions, massive airstrikes believed to be carried out by the israeli air force. we do not have confirmation yet but this is a city that feels very chaotic as of now. politically, there is a vacuum. we know the leader has met with the interim prime minister but so far, there are no clear details on what the way forward exactly will be. in the day, we went to some government buildings and police stations in the city to see what exactly was happening there and outside, with nonmembers -- we found fighters and they said they had been deployed there this morning and that they had come in from idlib, in region in syria that has been controlled to secure the city and to ensure

that there is not any looting or vandalism, some of which we saw on sunday but before the curfew, there is a curfew from 5:00 in the evening until 5:00 in the morning but before the curfew in the central square of the city, it was still very much a second day of celebrations. hundreds, possibly thousands of civilians coming in congress. families are packed in, honking their horns, singing, cheering, clapping, and chest continuously, there was a barrage of celebratory gunfire literally to the extent where all of the roads around that square were littered with spent bullets. >> the world is reacting to the end of bashar assad's rule and processing how it could reshape region. european countries have frozen syrian asylum requests with the u.k. saying protecting civilians is a priority and that assad's downfall is no guarantee of peace. western leaders called for a piece for transfer of power. turkey says it will reopen

the border gate to a the voluntary return of millions of syrian migrants. joe biden described the fall of the assad regime as a fundamental act of justice. a short time ago, i spoke to the white house national security spokesperson, john kirby, about the united states response to the toppling of the assad regime. >> the new secretary general of nato has said in relation to syria that this is a moment of joy but also one of uncertainty for the people in syria and the wider region. what is the white house beyond what is happening right now? once we agree with that. the president said so yesterday. there is terrific risk and uncertainty right now but there is also opportunity. the president spoke this morning with king abdullah and jordan. he will be calling on counterparts throughout the region and we will be in touch with those interlocutors to try to make the most of this opportunity. you have seen the video of syrian people rejoicing. it is important that that joy gets translated into effective

governance in syria to meet their aspirations to actually help them achieve those hopes. >> did you see this? was the u.s. involve? >> there was no u.s. involvement in what the rebel groups did over the course of the weekend in damascus. we were not involved in any way in that. we watched it unfold very much the way that you did. it was very -- a very fast-moving situation. what we are doing now are short of two things. making sure our troops in syria which are in the weeds -- in the east end focused on isis can continue to be the and number two that we are working through the u.n. and through counterparts in the region and even with these opposition groups to try to help a peaceful, secure transition to some form of governance. >> are you confident back and take place? obviously, the main rebel group here, there is a bounty on the leaders head.

the organization had linked to al qaeda. >> let me put it this way. we are going to stay focused on trying to secure that kind of a transition to good governance in syria. it is an open question about what the next step is going to be and how exactly that process is going to unfold. we talked about their leader but there's also other rebel groups and opposition groups in damascus as well. some of them, we are in direct contact. we are going to continue to message all of them to try and push this to transition along in a healthy way that again creates some viable governance. i think you are a day after what happened in damascus, just a little too soon to know exactly how this is going to unfold. >> when you are talking about providing assistance and so on, what does that mean in a practical way? >> first of all, it means working through the u.n.. there is a u.n. lead process or has been to try and establish

good governance in syria so we are going to work through that process and we will have individual bilateral discussions with counterparts such as the one we had today and then we will continue to work with aid organizations to make sure humanitarian assistance is not ignored. there are hundreds of thousands of people displaced just over recent days and millions have been flung into refuge because of mr. assad's brutality over the last 14 years. we want to make sure those who want to come back in, and we are seeing a demand signal for syrians to come back home, that they can do so in a safe, efficient way, and they have access to food, water, medicine, hygiene, all of those important factors. >> are you concerned about civilians, minority groups, human rights being upheld? >> of course. we are hearing from other rebel leaders that they are not interested in persecution or retribution. they are looking after some sort of inclusiveness in the way that they govern. those are good things to hear

and we are glad to hear them say that but it is going to come down to action, deeds not words. that is why we are not wasting a moment even today. we are in touch with counterparts in the region to see what we can all do together to make sure that they make good on this pleasures. >> when you are talking about that long-suffering of the people of syria, what plans can there be to hold bashar assad accountable? >> we do believe he does need to be held accountable for his brutality and we also think russia needs to be held accountable for the way they have pushed him along and helped come to his assistance over the course of 14 years and the fact that they are now harboring him on russian soil so they need to be held to account. exactly what that is going to look like, we don't have all the answers. we are working with our counterparts inside the administration to examine what kind of options we have. >> the road is running out for

this administration. is there cooperation with trump, with his officials on this matter? let's we are in touch with his team about all the events unfolding in the middle east and europe as well including what happened here over the last 48 hours and we will keep that communication going. it will be up to mr. trump and his team to determine what sort of policies they want to pursue but we want to make sure they have all the context and information that they need as they think about those decisions. >> we heard from president trump over the weekend saying i know vladimir very well, referring to the russian president, putin. >> certainly, mr. trump, by didn't have the fact that he has been president before, does have relationships with world leaders and he's talking about some of those relationships openly now. that is his prerogative to do that. we are going to make sure that as he and his team are preparing to come in that they have our context, our information, our communication that we are having said that when the responsibility is on their

shoulders, they can get off to a good start. that is our job. secondarily, actually, it is not even secondarily. just as important, with the time we have met, to continue to execute on the foreign policy a president biden and his administration which is an assertive foreign policy, collaborative foreign policy, a foreign policy built on the importance of multilateralism and shoring up allies and partners and we are going to continue to do that and i would go so far as to say -- you asked me about did we see the events unfolding in damascus -- that by didn't of that foreign policy by our supporting ukraine, supporting israel, we made what happened over the past couple of days more possible. because russia and iran were not only unwilling to come to mr. assad's assistance, they were unable to. weekend and distracted as they are. >> the american journalist, austin tice, i spoke to his

family on our show on friday and they said they have evidence that he is alive and he is in syria. what about his circumstances now, given what we have seen in the last few days, do you have any information about that? can you find information on that? >> and don't have anything i can share today. we have been trying very hard to get him back with his family and the president talked about this as well yesterday. what is happening in syria could provide more opportunity to get more knowledge about his whereabouts and try to bring about his return. again, little too soon to know because all of this just unfolded in the last 24 hours or so but we want to make sure we keep focused on that, that we do not pass up any opportunities that events might offer us to get a little bit more information but right now, i don't have anything. >> john kirby saying u.s. officials are communicating with people in syria, seeking information about the american

journalist and former marine who was kidnapped while reporting on the war in syria in 2012. spoke with his sister here on friday. he might remember, before assad was toppled and today, she gave her family's reaction to the developments to my colleague. what's watching these events has been extremely a mix of emotions, i would say. our strongest emotion right now is hope. seeing some of these people who have been detained for 30, 40 years plus gives us immense hope that austin can also be freed. >> did you learn any more information over the weekend about austin's whereabouts, his well-being? >> we have not received any updated information in regards to that. we believe he is alive in syria. >> president biden did speak to some reporters over the weekend which i know you saw and he said we believe he is alive and we

think we can get him back but we have no direct evidence of that yet. what have you heard from u.s. authorities since the events of this weekend? quite yes, i mean, hearing that was amazing and that has been the common threat we have been hearing from our government. they all believe that he is alive. they all believe that he is there. they told us that their top priority is getting him home safely. >> let's talk some more now about the latest developments in syria. i am joined by the executive director for the syrian emergency task force. thank you so much for coming in to us. you are going off to the airport after this to make your way to damascus. what is that like for you, knowing that you are going there? what are you expecting to find? >> it is surreal. i don't believe it. i feel like i will believe it when i see it. so many syrians have not been allowed to go home for so many years. on a personal and emotional

level, it is an indescribable feeling but my top priority is to find out anything and everything i can about austin and i am so grateful for the new rulers in damascus, the syrian people themselves who are making it a priority of theirs as well. >> in terms of what does come next in syria, we heard the secretary-general of nato talking about joy but also uncertainty. where do you see things moving? >> obviously, first of all, syria has been in horrible chaos under the dictator. what has happened is chemical weapons, half of the population has been displaced. regional destabilization. no more refugees leaving. as a matter of fact, they are coming back. what is important is for the entire world to celebrate this victory against tyranny. also to help us build the

democracy that we called for in 2011. >> even everyone coming home is going to create a humanitarian situation in addition to what exists already. >> it has been horrendous. as people are coming back home, i am hopeful that a lot of people are going to come back and help rebuild and support not everybody coming back home are refugees and a lot of them build lives over these 15 years and are coming back to rebuild their country but the international community must celebrate this victory and not keep talking about the terrorists were right -- al qaeda taking over syria because none of that is true. they should all come together right now in damascus. there should be rescue teams helping us unlock the doors to these dungeons were men, women, children, and elderly have been tortured to death. >> there have been difficulties trying to locate the cells. you need the equipment that

people use after an earthquake so you can find out what is under deck -- underground. a lot of these civilians are in the dungeons below ground. a lot of people are afraid to deal with damascus because of the misinformation that terrorists have taken over and that is absolutely not true. >> on who will be in control now -- referencing the previous incarnation which was designated as a terrorist organization. >> referencing the regional countries that were trying last-minute to save assad and referencing the media that continue to talk about this. it has a past that it has and it is obviously not the old version. it was key in getting al qaeda completely out of syria. it doesn't mean they are liberal democrats but they are part of a bigger coalition and they are promising that they are giving the country back to its people

and that is a good thing is that. >> would you like to see us -- see the u.s. redesignate that group? >> i would like all sanctions on syria to be lifted and any irrelevant outdated designations like this one should also be lifted, absolutely. >> what is going to happen now? there is a coalition of rebel groups in terms of the power struggle that is going to take place there in terms of who will be the leadership. >> the power struggle only happens if regional countries start intervening. we experienced this before. each one of those were giving weapons and money to random factions in syria and that caused the division but because the syrian people liberated themselves by themselves without outside support, there is complete unity and wanting freedom versus tyranny so you know, i do not fear that. i think even when and if whoever intervenes in syria and internal affairs, they have learned a lot of lessons.

>> who would you want to see giving that help? what is the best case scenario there? >> i think in terms of the international community, we need to send humanitarian aid as you mentioned. the reason we could not before is assad would not allow it and now there is nothing to stop that. number two, go to damascus and engage with them because syria could be an important and influential ally for western democracies and the fact that we spent so much time discussing who is coming next, are the chemical weapons going to fall in the wrong hands? dynamic -- the chemical weapons -- today, you have a government wanting outreach so come to damascus. that is my invite to everyone. >> enjoy the homecoming trip. thank you. just to the north of damascus, large crowds have been gathering outside the notorious prison, hoping to find information about missing loved ones who were tortured and killed under

president assad's regime. rebel forces freed many of the prisoners after the government was toppled. thousands of people are in a desperate search for relatives but a group representing inmates says there are no detainees left inside. with us now is barbara, our correspondent who can tell us more about what is going on. barbara, what do we know about the most up-to-date situation? >> katrina, and we got into the building where they have searches going on so the idea is that although there were many prisoners released, there are hidden cells and an underground prison network which contains many more people who remain trapped underground and this has been a view for quite some time that there is an underground network of prison cells although there has never been any evidence of that, there have been inmates who left, former

inmates who talked about it so what they are doing right now is checking whether that is the case and they have been looking through the prison complex very thoroughly. when we were there, we went down to the bowels of the building really into the cellar type area where they were pounding the ground, thinking that this might be an entrance to a tunnel or to some way of getting to that network if it exists. nothing did they find so far to make them think that they would be close to reaching their goal but there were certainly many family members, hundreds if not thousands, who after the prison was opened yesterday, i believe it was, sunday, came to find out if their loved ones maybe were being held in these hidden cells so they have not received any good news yet but they told me again and again and again about the stories of their loved ones having been detained for many years, tortured, missing.

these are the faceless people that are the legacy of the brutality of bashar assad's rule and my main impression was the legacy left very deep wounds that may never heal and sort of need to be resolved or at least need to be a closure before they can move on to this new syria, whatever that means. >> barbara, is there a sense that those who are looking for family members for those who detainees, that they have the very basic equipment that they need or is there a call to the international community for assistance there? >> there were a number of people there who said to us that we need more help and equipment. we need to be able -- we need to be assisted to be able to do this and what we saw was very rudimentary. they were basically taking a big sledgehammer to the prison floor, banging on it, trying to break through to some sort of opening beneath it.

it definitely was not sophisticated. you do have -- you did have the white helmets who had many years, as i am sure you know, working in response to the civil war and search-and-rescue attempt so they sent a number of emergency teams to try and help guide and direct what is going on and they also said they have no evidence yet of this network of tunnels -- this network of prisons, although they had heard about it, and they have not found any signs of an entrance to it yet. >> barbara, think now, police in the u.s. arrested what they have called a strong person of interest in connection with the murder of the united health care ceo, brian thompson, in new york last week. ouija was attained at a mcdonald's in pencil -- luigi was attained at a mcdonald's after a tipoff from a member of the public. our correspondent reports.

>> after a five-day manhunt, police believe they have their suspect in the recent targeted killing of united health you brian thompson. luigi has been identified as a strong person of interest after an employee at a mcdonald's recognized him from these widely circulated images after the shooting and alerted local authorities. the 26-year-old turned up in pennsylvania, a town more than 4 hours drive outside of newark, and was eating when he was approached by police. >> responding officers questioned the suspect who is acting suspiciously and carrying multiple fraudulent ids as well as a u.s. passport. >> one of the fraudulent ideas was the same new jersey license used by the suspected gunman when he checked into this hostel on the upper west side before the shooting. the nypd is now on the scene to question him. officials say he was in possession of several other items that connected him to the incident including a mask, a

three page handwritten manifesto that showed ill will towards corporate america and a weapon. >> the gun appears to be a ghost gun, may have been made on a 3d printer. obviously, that will come out during our ballistics testing. >> until now, luigi was not on the nypd's radar and they believe he acted alone. he is expected to be extradited to new york but is currently being held in pennsylvania on gun charges. bbc news, new york. >> that is it for today. you can keep up-to-date with all of the days news on our website, bbc.com/news. 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. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: get the free pbs app now and stream the best of pbs.

♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the "newshour" tonight, a new day in syria. rebel forces who ousted bashar al-assad's regime seek to build a functioning government. we get the biden adminstration's view on the seimic shift.