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they care about what i want, my needs, my career path, i matter here. 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" n washington and this is bbc world news america. hopes rise for an israel/hamas cease-fire as u.s. secretary of state antony blinken says korean investigators are trying again to impeach president yoon suk yeol. donald trump's pickford defense secretary pete hegseth valves to

restore a warrior ethos to the military but faced questions from senators over his views about women in combat. welcome to world news america. we will have the latest on the gaza cease-fire talks in a moment. first the developing story in south korea where investigators are attempting to enter the official residence of south korea's impeached president and say they will detain anyone that tries to prevent them from arresting him. we will take you to the president's home in seoul. yoon suk yeol is facing charges of insurrection and abuse of power after he impose martial law for a short period in december. that arrest could be blocked by the presidential security team. reporters are outside -- outside the residence, vowing to stop any attempt. opponents of mr. yoon suk yeol

are gathered and ordering his detention. our correspondent is in seoul for us. what's happening? >> we entered the third hours since the investigation -- investigators and police arrived to try to enter the presidential compound. so far they have failed to do so. this continues to be a standoff. i will tell you where i am. we are at the closest police barricade between us and the alleyway that leads into the presidential compound. let me show you. this is where the anti-yoon suk yeol protesters are, chanting "arrest him". here we have police officers. the police presence is ramped up this time. there are 1000 police officers for entry and arrest at 2000 for crowd control. on this side are anti-yoon suk

yeol protesters and on the other sidearm pro yoon suk yeol protesters that are also loud in supporting the president. what we have not seen or heard is the president himself. he remains in the presidential residence. investigators and pulleys are trying to make their way in through two entrances. one is through the main gate. the other is through the hill surrounding the presidential palace. as it stands, there is still a standoff. not just between the police and investigators and the presidential security staff, but also between the investigators and the ruling party lawmakers who have formed a human to change or try to stop them from entering. we understand one person has been injured in the clashes. at the entrance of the presidential compound. this is exactly what the authorities are trying to avoid. that person has been taken to hospital.

even though the numbers have been ramped up, even though we see law enforcement officers outside the residential -- presidential residence and trying to make a way in, what they have not been able to do is the one thing they have been trying to do, make their way in and arrest the president. it has proven so difficult because essentially you have two elements of power, two branches of executive power. one, law enforcement officers and the police and investigators saying they have legal arrest warrants they are trying to execute but they are being blocked by the president's security staff who are holding around saying they are also fulfilling their duty. they are trying to protect the president and this is the standoff we find ourselves in. >> reporting from seoul, thank you for the update. we will continue to monitor the story. in the middle east, it seems increasingly likely israel and hamas will soon reach a deal that would see a cease-fire in

gaza and a swap of israeli hostages for palestinian prisoners. indirect talks are taking place in qatar with a foreign minister said tuesday all major issues have been resolved and while an agreement is not set all sides involved are closer than ever to striking a deal. the israeli media leaked a draft version of three steps for a cease-fire. according to that suppose a deal hamas would release three hostages on the first day of the agreement upon which israel would begin withdrawing troops from populated areas. seven days later hamas would release four additional hostages and israel would allow people displaced from the south to return north on foot on the coastal road. on the 16th day of the cease-fire the agreement would allow israel to maintain an 800 meters buffer zone along its eastern and northern borders with gaza, at least during the first phase of the deal and includes provisions for israeli portions to -- troops to remain in the israeli corridor -- for

the delphi corridor that separates gaza from egypt. >> tuesday i nato how you have the israeli delegation and hamas delegation in the same building. the qatari's and egyptians shuttling between them. the understanding is they are into technical implementation details. that these are really last-minute issues. all of the principles have been involved. this is down to the nitty-gritty last-minute specifics before an agreement is announced. we thought at some point that could come as early as today. it has not happened. it could be tomorrow or later in the week but it seems extremely close. >> antony blinken the u.s. secretary of state has been speaking about this. what did he say about the fact that they are ever closer to a deal? >> this was one of his last big foreign policy speeches on the middle east at the atlantic council in washington today

echoing what president biden had said. he said that a deal is on the brink. he said he believes it will happen. notably, he said it is not necessarily before or after the 20th of january, the inauguration of president trump. the thinking is it will come before that. another quick notable points. he went on to talk about the postwar plan. the americans, hand it over to president trump on this one big thing that does not involve the full takeover of independent control by the palestinian authority. the body created by the oslo accords, palestinian self-governance. it would be more of an internationally that issue. i think that will cause issues for some palestinian leadership. he was also pretty critical of some american allies in the region including the israelis. about then he said they had essentially gone too far. they had overreached their strategic objectives in gaza. >> tom, thank you for the

update. tom bateman. more analysis. david makovsky is director of the washington institute for the middle east peace process. it's good to have you joining us from israel today. what are you hearing on the contours of the agreement and how it will be finalized? >> thank you for having me. it is always good to be back with you and the bbc. look, i think there is a sense, talking to officials here today, and i will be having more talks tomorrow, that they were are very close. henry kissinger famously said negotiations in the middle east do not end in exhilaration. they end in exhaustion. brinksmanship is par for the course. it's clear -- and the news coverage is wall-to-wall. saturation, prime time. it is clear that israel would

like, in the negotiations, hostages frontloaded, as many as possible in the early part of the cease-fire. and, whether hamas wants to hold others back, i don't know. it is clear that they will -- there will be prisoners. the hostages will be released. the sequencing, according to news reports here, and what i am hearing from officials, not everything is finalized. and they are waiting for mohammed sinwar in the tunnels somewhere in gaza. the most part people in gaza are holding the actual hostages. whatever is being discussed in qatar actually has to be proved in gaza itself. we need to see. but i expect brinksmanship. things never go smoothly. there are always final sticking points. i do think it will happen.

but i just think we have to be careful making predictions about the coming hours. your correspondent was right. it could go on for days. >> let me ask you about the timing. if they have been negotiating for months. there is speculation that it was a fact that donald trump is entering the white house and has demanded an agreement that pushed this forward. is that the view there as well? >> no doubt. the donald trump factor was key here. i don't recall a negotiation where you had both the outgoing president team and the incoming president's team in the same negotiations. usually we only have one president at a time. it was important to reflect a sense of consensus, that the incoming and the outgoing, they are all on the same page when it comes to hostages and the cease-fire. that has been very effective in this regard.

but, the looming trump, it's clearly a part of this. the hostage do in around 1980 one, they were free 20 minutes into reagan's presidency. i don't think we will see a repeat of that here. i am sure that president biden, for all his hard work and his team, they would love to see it happen still under biden's watch, but we have to see. >> if the agreement takes the form it is in now how tenuous do you think it is? >> very tenuous. because we are emphasizing what they call phase one, the 42 days. it only covers one third of the hostages. we assume that many are dead. it is clearly the mail hostages under age 50 that will be -- when there is phase two. that is moving forward from israel. there are questions about that.

some of the parents of those hostages that were supposed to be in phase two have talked about this being a death sentence because they don't know if they will get a phase two or not. that's a fair question. that is added to the idea of trying to get as many hostages in phase one as possible. >> tenuous indeed. >> 34 is alive and dead in the first phase. that still leaves two thirds of the hostages. they start negotiating on phase two during phase one. i do not think there is a high level of confidence that phase two will happen. >> we have to leave it there, unfortunately, for today. thank you for those announcements tonight from israel. >> to california, now, where firefighters are bracing for strong winds in los angeles that threaten to undermine progress made against the city's wildfires. at least 24 people have died in

the fires and 23 others are missing. forecasters expect gusts of more than 70 miles per hour, about the same force as a category one hurricane. two large wildfires and two smaller ones continue to burn. the biggest, the palisades fire's to destroyed more than 23,000 acres and is only 17% contained. the eaton fire is 35% contained. the hurst fire is almost completely contained, but the newest auto fire that started last night has burned through at least 56 acres and is uncontained. authorities confirmed more than 1800 national guard troops will help the fire crews battled ablated through the u.s. air force confirmed that california guard will help law enforcement and emergency response efforts. curfews remain in place under evacuation order. the l.a. county sheriff confirmed 39 arrests overnight including nine for curfew violations and 11 for burglary. let's go to our north american correspondent gary o'donoghue who is in los angeles today. tell us where you are and what you witnessed today.

gary: we are in the palisades area, the scene of one of the big fires. there is good news today. some of the wind's speeds they were expecting have not quite transpired as it happens. that means there is a bit of a lull right now. those to pick up in the next several hours over the next day or so. but it is not as bad today as they feared meaning they can go more on the offensive with the fires, try to increase the amounts contained. we know that both of the fires here and in eaton are still burning pretty badly. the other thing that has changed today is the federal emergency agency, fema, set up two disaster centers where people can go to get coordinated help, get money for housing, get money for belongings that they have

lost, particularly for those that are insured, they can get help being re-housed. they are also playing host to around 70 other organizations. i spoke to people from the salvation army. they were offering clothes and spiritual support and habitat for humanity and other organization made famous by late president carter, i spoke to one of the organizers and they said that his message would be to get out and get to it. >> our north american correspondent gary o'donoghue, thank you for the update from the pacific palisades neighborhood in los angeles. joining me now is california's chief service officer josh friday. thank you for joining us. you have been leading service and a volunteer efforts to help those that have been affected. you've been out and about. tell us what the situation is like. >> it has obviously been a horrific experience in southern

california. but as our hearts break with the disaster, our spirits are lifted by the fact that people are stepping up in such tremendous waves to serve and help each other. i am not a natural resource center that opened today and people aren't coming to sign up for resources. -- people are coming to sign up for resources. we have volunteers or from the community. the community is rallying. >> tell us what people are looking for when they come to a resource center like that. what do they need? >> everything from immediate assistance to help with rental support. sometimes they need mental health support or supplies. that is why we ask people to continue to give. give money if you can. give donations. and also give your time. volunteer at a food bank, the

ymca or one of our distribution sites. or, just give love and support. we have many people coming out making meals for their neighbors, helping those who have lost everything get back on their feet. we are acting and moving with urgent speed to make sure we are providing to those impacted by the fires. >> there seems to be an incredible spirit of helping each other and resilience as well in that community. >> it is incredible. so inspiring. to see how california has come together. to help each other and support each other. showing each other the love and support we need. we will get through this unbelievably difficult time and come out of it stronger. >> quickly, josh, before you get back to work, what can people do to help? >> people can give. they can give their time and volunteer.

places like the l.a. food bank, the ymca distribution center. they can give money. and they can give love and support. there are so many ways that everybody in california and around the world can help california get back on their feet. >> josh, great to speak with you. thank you for joining us. in the u.s. president elect donald trump's pick to lead the defense department appeared before a senate confirmation hearing where he called for a return to a warrior culture in the military. pete hegseth is the first of trump's cabinet nominees to be grilled as part of a confirmation process. a former soldier and more recently a fox news host he would lead a department with nearly 3 million military and civilian employees and an annual budget of almost 850 billion dollars. democratic senators pressed hegseth on his limited experience, allegations of

excessive drinking and mismanagement of a veterans organization finances, all of which he denies. several senators pushed hard on his views on women in the military. prior to the nomination hegseth criticized the diversity, equity, and inclusion measures in the military and stated that women should not serve in conduct roles. he denied sexual misconduct allegations against him from several sources. >> there was a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media against us. that was clear from moment one. we knew it was not about me. most of it was about president donald trump, who has had to endure the same thing for a much longer amount of time. endured in incredibly strong ways. in some ways we knew it was coming. we did not understand the depth of the dishonesty that would come with it. from story after story in the media, left-wing media, we saw anonymous source after anonymous source based on second or third

hand accounts. time and again, stories would come out and people would reach out to me and say, i have spoken to this reporter about who you really are and i was willing to go on the record. but they didn't print my quote. >> i spoke earlier to one of the democratic members of the senate armed services committee thomas senator tim kaine. senator, did you get answers to the questions you had for pete hegseth. >> i did not. this was an unusual hearing in that he would not meet with me before the hearing. that's traditional. i have always done that with the secretary of defense nominees. i got seven minutes to ask him questions. i can find it -- confined it just to allegations about his character. when i asked him directly, should committing a sexual assault be disqualifying to be secretary of defense, he would not answer. i asked if being publicly drunk

at work should be disqualifying and he would not answer. i asked whether anybody who commits violence against a spouse or partner should be disqualifying and he would not answer. there were other issues where we tussled back and forth. , but the character questions i had going in our only larger coming out. >> pete hegseth has said he has made mistakes in the past and has changed. he has reformed. is that something you believe? >> well, when you say i have changed and reformed but there are still allegations about my behavior that are anonymous political smear campaigns, which is it? if all of the allegations were false, what you mean you have changed and performed? we happen to know, as he was claiming that allegations about public drunkenness, mistreatment of women staffers, creating a toxic workplace, he said these

were anonymous smears and i pointed out they are anything but anonymous because i have reviewed a significant documentation and all of these claims have people's names connected to them, including his own mother. so i know he wanted to push off all of these allegations of character flaws with a general claim that he has changed and improved. but if he is unwilling to be accountable ended knowledge areas where he has fallen short in the past it is hard to believe the subsequent conversion. >> republican reactions after the hearing. they believe pete hegseth proved he is a very strong candidate and the right person to lead the department of defense and some of your republican colleagues in the senate had some reservations like joni ernst who questioned pete hegseth's previous comments about women serving in the military. they then met with him and felt their concerns were addressed. do you think you could change her opinion on pete hegseth to lead the department? >> i am looking forward to finally meeting with him tomorrow.

i will ask him questions about a lot of prosaic stuff like getting the nation's shipbuilding back on track etc.. this is the most important cabinet position, in my opinion. you need is somebody not only of solid qualification, but somebody whose character is very, very stellar. i will say the nominee has more baggage on the personal behavior and character side than any nominee that has come before any of the committees i have been on in the senate in the last 12 years. i am looking forward to the discussion tomorrow and we will see where it goes. >> pete hegseth says he is a change agent and his supporters say he is a disruptor that the defense department desperately needs. it is opaque and bureaucratic, they say. it has failed seven audits. is that what the position needs? >> i do think we need some significant change. maybe not modest change, significant change.

but if you want to change an organization you need eight track record of being able to change an organization. pete hegseth has been the leader of two relatively small nonprofits, both of which experience significant financial management challenges with him at the helm. and at both of which, he had a number of colleagues that leveled serious charges against him for the way he treated women employees and his use of alcohol on the job. >> let's look at other headlines. president biden says the u.s. will remove its designation of cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. more than 550 prisoners will be released by the time by the police office. cuba was added to the washington terrorist atlas in 1982 and removed by obama in 2015. the trump administration place cuba back on the list in 2021 for the uk's treasury minister resigned over a corruption

investigation in bangladesh after weeks of questioning about her aunt who was ousted last year as prime minister of bangladesh claiming her family embezzled more than $4 billion from infrastructure projects. ms. siddiq denied wrongdoing between the princess of wales revealed she is in remission from cancer after making an emotional return to the london hospital where she received treatment. case has been prince william is first in line to the throne. he spoke of her relief and said she remained focused on recovery. ukraine's army has carried out its largest strikes yet against military targets deep inside russia. key of targeted sites up to 1100 kilometers beyond the ukraine/russia border including a chemical land where shells and cruise missile components are made and an oil refinery and a fuel depot. south africa's mining minister to find it -- defended the

government's crackdown on illegal mining as rescuers bring out dozens of men's trapped for months in a mine. rights groups criticized the decision to deny them in food and water to force them out. dozens of emaciated miners were pulled out. hundreds more men remain underground. thank you for w announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... 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: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

geoff: on the news hour tonight surging wind fuels los angeles wildfires that have been blazing for a full week. what the scope of destruction means for homeowners and home insurance. >> lawmakers grill the secretary of defense nominee pete