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washington and this is "world n news america." house say they have reached a new deal to fund the government but it is unclear if they have enough votes to padgett. the husband of gisele pelicot is jailed in a rape trial that sent shockwaves across france. the bbc gains for access to stories of women inside a prison. ♪ welcome to "world news america." republicans in the u.s. house of representatives say they have reached a deal to avert a government shutdown and plan to vote on it tonight but if you republicans say they oppose the bill and it is unclear how democrats will vote. the president elect said speaker

mike johnson and the house have come to a very good deal for the american people. the newly agreed to american relief act of 2024 will keep the government open, fund farmers and others and provide relief for those affected by the devastating hurricanes. he encouraged democrats and republicans to vote for it. it is passed the bill would fund the government for three months and suspend the debt until 2027. it is a limit set on how much money the u.s. can borrow. the budget was never passed for the 2025 fiscal year. instead it was funded until december 20. it comes one day after a previous deal collapsed after criticism from elon musk on x. that led president elect trump to encourage republicans to reject the bill. it is complicated. our north america correspondent is looking through all of this.

take us through what happened with elon musk opposing the original deal. what happened? anthony: it all happened relatively quickly. it looked like there was an agreement between republicans and democrats to bring the bill to the floor of the house of representatives and get it signed before the friday midnight deadline. elon musk yesterday started posting on x that he owns, he criticized it in a series of posts, over 100 in the end, saying it was a waste of money and expanded the deficit and was corrupt. anyone who supported it should no longer be in office in two years and that slowly but steadily peeled away a lot of republicans in the house of representatives who they were counting on to support this. they had to get more republicans than it looked like they were going to end up getting.

donald trump came out and said he was opposed to it, too. the republican leadership in the house went back to the drawing board. they have unveiled this new stripped down bill, one hundred-something pages instead of 1000-something. as you mention, it waives the debt ceiling for two years which is something donald trump kind of threw out of the last minute but will help him because republicans will not have to take a vote to raise the debt limit and deal with the headache of that when they are the only ones in charge. sumi: a lot of people asking about what this says about the influence elon musk has on the president-elect. anthony: elon musk has a number of things on his side. he has hundreds of billions of dollars. he has a social media megaphone and the ear of the president and

republicans in congress. he flexed that muscle yesterday. he was able to essentially single-handedly derail this compromised legislation. donald trump was not speaking out against it or taking any strong position, at least publicly. it was elon musk who started the ball rolling and it is elon musk celebrated by conservative commentators and the online ecosystem he loves to, celebrating this as a victory for conservatism. sumi: what does it tell us on how the second trump administration will start? we see a decisive victory from trump in the election, they have the house and the senate yet some of these deals appear to be tenuous. anthony: it is chaos already and donald trump is not yet president. the majority will be even smaller for republicans when the new congress gets sworn in.

it underlines how tenuous the majority is and how challenging it will be for the republicans to keep their entire caucus together, assuming unified democratic opposition. if they lose a handful of votes, it might come down to not afford to lose one vote. that will derail their plan. it could be a very real challenge for donald trump and the republicans to hold their coalition together and pass more controversial components of donald trump's legislative agenda. sumi: anthony, thank you for your analysis. anthony: my pleasure. sumi: accords in france found 51 men guilty in a mass rape trial that sent shockwaves around the world. the men are in jail for what they did to one woman, gisele pelicot. her husband got the longest sentence for drugging his wife

and allowing dozens of strangers to rape her repeatedly over 10 years. gisele pelicot said she waved her right to anonymity so society could see what was happening. our correspondence at this report from outside the court. andrew: the accused arrived early in court, faces masked as usual, some of prison bags already packed. the crowd and the forest of cameras were not here for the men. this trial has in so many ways become all about this woman. gisele pelicot. her face seemed serene this morning. the rape victim who refused to feel shame. inside the crowded courtroom the judge quickly got on with the business of the day. verdicts first and then sentencing for all 51 men. dominique pelicot sat quietly in his glass cage as the judge

turned to address him. >> the defendants will stand up in turn to hear the verdicts. mr. pelicot first. the court finds him guilty of aggravated rape. >> inside the courtroom the verdicts have been coming at a furious pace. guilty, guilty, guilty. dominique pelicot just about to be told he will be sentenced to 20 years in prison, the maximum in france for rape. he showed no emotion, nor did his former wife gisele. outside the courthouse, some people celebrated the news. others were angry that many of the men got lighter sentences than anticipated. shame, they chanted. back inside, dominique pelicot's lawyer told me her client was considering an appeal.

asked what his mood was like. fatalistic, she replied. the way he has always been throughout the trial. and then after a pause, gisele pelicot emerged to make a short statement. >> i want to express my deepest gratitude to all the people who have supported me throughout this ordeal. i was overwhelmed by your support and i drew from it the strength to come back every day to face these long days of hearings. i wanted to open the doors of this trial last september so society could see what was happening. i have never regretted this decision. i have confidence now in our capacity collectively to find a better future in which men and women alike can live harmoniously together with respect and mutual understanding. thank you.

>> it is half a century now since the pelicots met and fell in love. she described him as a perfect husband. in 2020, dominique pelicot was caught in this footage filming up women's skirts and a local supermarket. other videos were discovered proving he had been drugging his wife and inviting dozens of strangers to rape her as he filmed. >> mr. pelicot desired total control over his wife. he wanted to reduce her to an object, a possession to be used for his satisfaction. he could lend this object to other people. to do that he needed to drug her. >> this was not his first crime. dna evidence soon proved pelicot had begun attacking women years earlier. he also took indecent images of his daughter, who was in court

along with her two brothers. she is convinced her father also raped her. this afternoon pelicot and most of the other rapists were taken away to begin their sentences. there was a moment of tension when one of the defense lawyers taunted the crowd, calling them hysterical. then swearing at them. here comes gisele pelicot now, leaving the courthouse for the last time. she has achieved something quite extraordinary. this courageous public stance, the impact will surely ripple through society, perhaps for decades. she could, like most rape victims, have chosen to remain anonymous at trial. instead, listen to the reaction she now receives. [applause] she wanted to change attitudes.

perhaps she has. rise up, they say. and with that, ms. pelicot, engulfed by gratitude, walks on. sumi: luigi mangione was arraigne for first-degree murder in a new york court today as prosecutor submitted evidence they claim showed his attack was planned months in advance. the 26-year-old is alleged to have shot and killed the ceo of the insurance company unitedhealthcare. he arrived in manhattan from pennsylvania this morning after waving his right to contest his extradition. he is facing four new federal charges in new york. the u.s. announced fresh sanctions targeting iran and a proxy group. the department of treasury said it sanction several shipping companies for their involvement

in iran's petroleum trade which generates resources to support iran's missile development, financing of terrorist proxy networks and its nuclear program. at least nine people were killed in yemen by multiple israeli strikes. the israeli military said it hit energy infrastructure in an effort to deter iran from smuggling weapons into the region. israel's military senate intercepted a missile launched into its territory. by houthi rebels the bbc has gained rare access to the unheard stories of women inside iran's notorious prison including accounts of torture and threats of execution. thousands of women in iran were arrested after the movement in 2022. . bbc 100 women has built a detailed picture of life inside prison walls revealing the story of women who continue to protest for the rise despite the risks. this is a story narrated by

someone held in prison. a warning, some viewers might find this distressing. >> they stopped my taxi, handcuffed and blindfolded me. >> before the protests, she lived in ordinary life. a hairdresser who loved rap music. >> i am interrogated 10-12 hours every day. i survived by rapping protest songs to myself but there were moments i felt the darkness would never end. >> she has been waiting for her sentence for 500 days. there are other women, too, suspended between life and death. every tuesday and the women

protest against executions. >> even though the prison has caged us it cannot cage our voices. today they announced my sentence -- 74 lashes, six years in prison, 20 years in exile. i can breathe again. i am brace the>> the flow of exs not stopped so neither have our protests. every tuesday, it repeats. sumi: the iranian government routinely denies allegations of human rights allegations and -- rejects claims prisoners are mistreated. you can watch on the you -- youtube channel or facebook and instagram. for more on what is facing iranian women in prison i spoke to a journalist.

what strikes you most about the accounts we have heard from inside this infamous prison? >> thank you for having me. there are two things that strike me about the reporting you have done. one is the brutality we have confirmed now from these current inmates inside. human rights dictates even if someone is a prisoner, a lot of these people should not be in prison, they have not necessarily done anything illegal by international standards. they have been deemed to have transgressed. the brutality is one thing. the other thing that strikes me is the system and this connection that a lot of these women have for one another in terms of propping each other up, supporting one another and going as far as hunger striking on behalf of other prisoners so

they can receive critical health care. those are the two big things that struck me from the key reporting. sumi: remarkable how they have come together despite adversity. do we have a sense of how many women are imprisoned and what if any recourse they have to challenge their imprisonment? >> the regime inside iran is opaque by design. we do not have exact numbers of women inside the notorious prison in tehran. what we do know is the court system inside the country is extremely unjust. people do not necessarily get access to legal representation that they should be entitled to and serious charges are leveled against people, particularly those who challenge the regime on numerous occasions, as we have seen with the nobel laureate who was speaking this

week having had a temporary release from inside. she has underscored that she is subject to sentencing almost at whim from the judiciary and a lot of that sentencing is a serious charges that are trumped up by the regime inside iran to target those political dissenters. sumi: more than two years now since the death and the launch of the women life freedom protests. how has the situation for women in iran changed? >> it is a great question and one of the things we have to step back and consider is the theocracy inside iran has been in existence since 1979. the women who have been the forefront of this latest revolutionary uprising, the woman in life freedom movement sparked by the killing of a woman a couple years ago. they continued to put themselves

in great harm. they have been taking to the streets, admittedly less so in the last few months in particular, as there was a change of hands at the top when it came to the presidency inside iran. things got much more strict. there was a clamp down after the killing and the uprisings, where people were much -- there were more police on the streets, people being policed more often. that he job loss, the headscarf -- the hijab laws that are draconian. one thing that is important for people watching to remember is we often hear about the hijab rules, the headscarf law, and that is something that is a form of male violence against women who live inside the country. there are serious systemic

issues that mean life for women inside iran is extremely difficult. if a woman wants to attain a passport she needs permission from her husband or the male of the household. if a woman wants to seek a divorce, she cannot get one without having to go through a process in the courts. the systems inside iran in addition to the headscarf role remain extremely perilous and claustrophobic for women. it is an unjust system and a very theocratic patriarchal society. sumi: french president emmanuel macron arrived to assess the damage from a cyclone. the island nation off the southeastern coast of africa has nearly 80% of its population living in poverty. officials are scrambling. president macron promised to set up a field hospital and vowed it

to help the island rebuild. our correspondent sent us this update. >> being here it is apparent how devastating the cyclone was to this tiny island. a lot of people live here in simple structures made out of wood and corrugated iron and they could not withstand the 220-kilometer per hour wind speeds we saw last weekend. a lot of people find themselves without shelter, sleeping out in the open, or even in a makeshift accommodation. we managed to speak to people who found shelter in schools and gyms but say their needs are bigger, their children are terrified and the food insecurity is an issue. >> i would like to go back home or have a house to take my children to because it is not normal to sleep like this. walking for my children safety and they will try to steal from

us. >> french president emmanuel macron is here and has decided to send a message that he is here to support the people and he will not just fly in and fly out. i think the gesture has been appreciated. people say they need more. for a long time the area has suffered from underinvestment and the houses need to be rebuilt stronger and better so they can withstand future cyclones. that makes life very difficult for mr. macron because at home he is dealing with the unsafe government that has a raging debate about immigration. and estimated hundred thousand people living here are migrants. some say france should not be sending as much aid because it might encourage more people to come here and try to apply for asylum. the residents here say this is not a time to talk about

immigration and they desperately need aid. sumi: president putin said he is ready for tots at any time with donald trump who has vowed to bring the war to ukraine to an end without saying how. president putin spoke at a press conference and our russia editor was there. >> it would have been hard not to notice vladimir putin today. his marathon end of your event was live on all main tv channels in russia. it was half phone-in, half press conference. he used it to deny the fall of bashar al-assad in syria was a defeat for russia and to say he was ready for talks anytime with president elect trump. after more than four hours, it was my turn to ask a question. exactly 25 years ago i said, when boris yeltsin resigned and handed you power, he told you to take care of russia.

the significant losses suffered in your so-called military operation in ukraine and the ukrainian troops now in russia's region and sanctions and high inflation, do you think you have taken care of russia? >> yes. i have not just taken care of it. i think we have pulled back from the edge of the abyss. with everything that was happening to russia before that, we were heading toward a complete, total loss of our sovereignty. and with our sovereignty, russia cannot exist as an independent state. >> from the public there were video messages asking putin to fix their everyday problems. from the president, there was praise from russian soldiers fighting against ukraine. what we learned from four hours of live televised putin -- in his mind he cannot put a foot wrong. events in syria are not a

defeat. the war in ukraine is going russia's way. yes, putin admits there are problems but the whole point of this event was to convince russians he has the solutions. when it was over, it was not over for me. i was mobbed by russian media wanting my reaction. this is what happens if you have managed to ask the kremlin leader a question. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. sumi: remember you can find more on all of the day's news on our website, bbc.com/news. you will see our coverage of the gisele pelicot trial in france. to see what we are working on at any time, check us out on your favorite social media site. i am sumi somaskanda in washington. thank you for watching and stay with bbc 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.

>> . i am geoff bennett. on