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Now, U.S. and Russian Leaders Holding Talks on Ending Ukraine War; Sources Say, Social Security Head Steps Down After Refusing to Give DOGE Staffers Access to Recipient Information; Delta Plane Flips Upside Down and Catches Fire, 18 Injured. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired February 18, 2025 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: America's top diplomat face to face with Russia. The highest level talks between the two countries since before the war in Ukraine began and the first serious discussions over ending that war on Ukraine now nearly three years old.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We have brand new reporting on the terrifying landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport, upside down and burning. A Delta flight completely flips over on the runway. All 80 people on board survived.

And we're standing by for an update from the Vatican on the condition of Pope Francis in the hospital for what appears to be an extended stay in the most serious health threat of his papacy.

Sara worked a double on the night shift. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: And breaking news overnight, high-stakes talks between the U.S. and Russia are happening right now in Saudi Arabia. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is sitting down with top Russian officials for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago. Notably not at the table right now is anyone from Ukraine or America's European allies.

But the closed door talks, they are critical to the future of the deadly conflict and the future hopes of a democratic Ukraine. We're standing by to see what comes out, what news, what word, what sign comes out of that room this morning, just as we also see a very stark split screen playing out, those civilized talks to end the war on one side, and the other word from Ukraine that Russia is intensifying its attacks as we speak. And we're also learning new detail about the American just freed by Russia hours before the talks began.

CNN's Matthew Chance is in Riyadh following all of this. Matthew, what is the latest? What are you hearing?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, these talks have been continuing for a good 3 hours and 15 minutes. There's a working lunch underway right now, where members of the U.S. delegation, including Mark Rubio, Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, Steve Witkoff, the Middle East envoy, they're sitting opposite their Russian counterparts, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, Yuri Ushkov, who's the presidential adviser to Vladimir Putin on foreign affairs, and to some extent, Kirill Dmitriev as well, who's the head of the Russian Sovereign Wealth Fund. He's been playing a part as well.

Look, I mean, I think there's a slight difference of comms coming out of both sides as to what the purpose of these talks are. The U.S. are going into this saying they're trying to suss out essentially whether the Russians are serious about negotiations to bring to an end the war in Ukraine. Top considerations there, of course, when it comes to resolving that three-year-old conflict, occupied Ukrainian land, how much of that will be kept under Russian control and how much will return to Ukrainian state. Ukraine's path to NATO membership or whether or not it will join NATO, something that the Americans have already said is likely not to happen. Peacekeeping troops. Obviously there's going to be a big, long frontline between Russia and Ukraine if an end to the war takes place. And it's going to require a lot of international peacekeepers to make sure those violations don't take place.

And, of course, Russian sanctions and trade. Russia has been hit by crippling sanctions over the course of the past three years because of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and other issues as well. So, that's the U.S. agenda.

On the Russian side, they're sort of got much less of a focus on ending the war, more of a focus on that being one of the issues that has to be resolved as part of a general normalization of relations between the United States and Russia. And so the Russians are very keen on the economic aspect, getting sanctions lifted, restarting economic cooperation with the United States to try and sort of boost the economy, which has been suffering over the course of the past three years.

There's also that outstanding issue of a presidential summit between President Putin and President Trump of the United States. The Kremlin is saying that we'll have more information on that potentially at the end of these talks. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Matthew, it's great that you're there on the ground covering all before us. Thank you so much for your reporting. John?

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, new resignations in Washington, this time at the Social Security Administration. Sources tell the Associated Press that Acting Commissioner Michelle King has stepped down over a request from Elon Musk's team to access Social Security recipient information.

[07:05:03]

King's departure is the latest as concern grows about how Musk and his people are operating.

Let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House for the latest on this. Alayna, what are you learning? ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it's as you said, John, acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration Michelle King has resigned from her role after facing pressure from staffers working with the Department of Government Efficiency to try and access some of these highly sensitive systems, you know, including Social Security numbers, et cetera, getting into some of that data. It's a trend we've seen now with a lot of these different agencies, a lot of these highly sensitive systems that these DOGE staffers are trying to gain access to, causing a lot of consternation among employees within the agency.

But, look, just to dig in a little bit more about King, she was someone who worked for decades at the Social Security Administration, at the agency. She was named last month as acting commissioner, but she resigned over the weekend over, you know, this spat with the Department of Government Efficiency.

Now, we know that, as I said, this comes as really we've seen so much criticism and skepticism from all corners of Washington, from Capitol Hill to the courts, over whether DOJ has the legal authority to do this, also for questions of violations of privacy rights and whatnot. We saw that play out kind of yesterday as we were reporting that a DOGE staffer was trying to gain access to the highly sensitive IRS taxpayer system. So, this continues to be something that we are seeing, kind of this push and pull from people who are questioning whether DOGE has the authority to do this.

Now, as for Social Security itself, I mean, this is such a big issue. One, it's one, of course, that has become really a political flashpoint in recent years. We know that President Donald Trump has vowed to protect Social Security, but he's also really provided few details over exactly how he would do that and try to solve for the agency's looming insolvency.

Now, just to give you a sense about the importance of Social Security, we know about 72.5 million people, including retirees, disabled people and children receive Social Security benefits, just to give you, you know, the context of how important social security is in this country.

I want to read for you a statement, though, from White House spokesperson Harrison Field. He said, quote, President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified individuals who are dedicated to working on behalf of the American people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for too long.

As we're hearing from him, the White House, everyone kind of supporting this effort is the same idea that, you know, they have tasked Elon Musk and those working under DOGE to go into these agencies, to hunt out what they are referring to as waste, fraud and abuse. But, again, we'll see how this plays out because this is just the latest agency to kind of fall under this skeptical -- skepticism around whether or not this is something that they should actually be doing. John?

BERMAN: Yes, how much and whose data should they have access to. Alayna Treene at the White House, thank you for your reporting this morning.

New details in the investigation into what caused the Delta flight to crash and flip upside down and how all 80 people on board managed to survive.

And a meeting that could determine the future and the fate of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the New York governor, who has the power to remove him from office, could address that as soon as today.

And the epic rematch is set. Two juggernauts set to take the ice knights. After fight after fight after fight, we can objectively say, go USA.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BERMAN: We are getting brand new information as to what might have happened to the Delta flight that ended up upside down in Toronto last night, upside down and hanging like bats is how one passenger put it.

All 80 people on board survived. 18 were injured. The plane traveling from Minneapolis was landing amid strong wind gusts and drifting snow.

CNN's Jason Carroll is in Toronto for us this morning, I think a very chilly Toronto, with the latest. Jason, what are you learning?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, a few things. Investigators have a few factors that are really working in their favor. First of all, the plane is intact. So, they'll have easy access to the flight data recorder as well as the cockpit voice recorder. They're going to be able to interview the pilot, the copilot, the crew to get their input into what happened.

But even with all of that, it still could be some time, John, before we have an exact cause of what went wrong here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on.

CARROLL (voice over): dramatic moments captured on the runway at Toronto's Pearson Airport as passengers escaped from a Delta commuter jet, which had just crashed and flipped upside down. One by one, passengers ran for their safety. One says all seemed normal as the aircraft was on final approach yesterday afternoon, then suddenly a hard landing.

JOHN NELSON, TORONTO PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR: When we hit, it was just a super hard light-like I hit the ground and the plane went sideways and I believe we skidded like on our side and then flipped over on our back where we ended out. There was like a big fireball.

PETER KOUKOV, TORONTO PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR: We didn't really know anything was the matter, or at least I didn't, until like the second we hit the ground. There was no like real indication of anything. And then, yes, we hit the ground, then we were sideways and then we were upside down hanging like bats.

[07:15:05]

CARROLL: Flight 4819 was inbound from Minneapolis carrying 80 people on board.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clear to land 23, Endeavor 4819.

CARROLL: Air traffic control cleared the CRJ-900 to land. Already questions if weather could have played a role in the crash. Wind gusts at the time reached almost 40 miles per hour. Over the past week, Toronto hit with nearly two feet of snow.

TODD AITKEN, FIRE CHIEF, TORONTO PEARSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: This is an active investigation. It's very early on. It's really important that we do not speculate. What we can say is the runway was dry and there was no crosswind conditions.

CARROLL: Canadian officials say 18 people on board were injured. The incident comes as the aviation industry still reeling from recent accidents involving an American Airlines commuter jet and a military chopper near Washington, D.C., a medevac jet in Philadelphia, and a Bering Air flight near Nome, Alaska. Passengers on board flight 4819 say it is remarkable everyone survived.

KOUKOV: Just feeling lucky and happy I got to give the person I didn't know sitting next to me a big hug that we were okay and be my friend here to pick me up from the airport and give them a big hug and, yes, get home, who knows when, but get home and give my family a big hug.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (on camera): Incredibly lucky. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will be heading up this investigation. The NTSB will be lending their part to help out in the investigation. In the meantime, two runways here at Pearson will be closed over the next few days as the early stages of this investigation get underway, John.

BERMAN: All right, Jason Carroll for us in Toronto. So many questions, still such remarkable images, it's wonderful that all 80 people on board survived. Thank you, Jason.

We've got exclusive new CNN reporting on a covert CIA operation flying Reaper drones over Mexico.

And the leader of a cult-like group known as the Zizians has been arrested after the group was connected to a string of murders across the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: This morning, we have a CNN exclusive to bring to you the CIA under President Trump has been covertly flying drones over Mexico to spy on drug cartels, that's according to officials with knowledge of the program, underscoring how aggressively the Trump administration is moving to crack down on immigration and also on drug trafficking and shifting counterterrorism resources to the U.S.-Mexico border and beyond.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand has this reporting. She's joining us now with much more on this. And what more are you learning, Natasha?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate. So, current and former officials tell me and my colleagues, Katie Bo Lillis and Zach Cohen, that the CIA under President Trump has been covertly flying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico to spy on drug cartels.

Now, this is all part of Trump's dramatic reorientation, as we know, of national security assets to the southern border, and CNN has previously reported that the U.S. military was flying spy planes in international airspace to monitor cartels, but these drones are actually flying over Mexico and inside Mexican airspace, which is a significant development.

Now, these were, these more recent flights were communicated to Congress by the Trump administration using a particular notification reserved for new or updated covert programs that the CIA intends either to conceal or deny. So, that's another difference here from the military flights.

Now, when we asked the CIA for comment, a spokesperson declined to comment specifically about the drone missions, but said that broadly, quote, countering drug cartels in Mexico and regionally is a priority for CIA as part of the Trump administration's broader efforts to end the grave threat from narco trafficking. Director Ratcliffe is determined to put CIA's unique expertise to work against this multifaceted challenge.

Now, these drone missions obviously also come amid very heightened tensions between the U.S. and the Mexican government, especially as Mexican officials are already fielding questions about why the military spy planes have been flying missions near their border in recent weeks.

And Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and other senior Mexican officials have also emphasized in recent days the importance of sovereignty and intelligence sharing. And they've noted that the spy plane flights are occurring in international airspace to kind of calm their public. But, obviously, these drone missions are taking place in Mexican airspace itself, and Mexican officials did not respond to our request for comment about this or whether they're even aware of these drone missions.

Now, we should also note that these MQ-9 drones that are being used for the missions, they're not currently armed, but they can be equipped with payloads to carry out precision strikes, which the U.S. pretty regularly does to target suspected terrorists in Syria, Iraq, and Somalia. The Trump administration, as we know, they are preparing to treat transnational drug cartels as terrorist organizations, but that designation hasn't officially been made yet. Still, you know, some current and former officials say that designating cartels as terrorist groups could potentially lay the groundwork for these kind of direct U.S. strikes against Mexico's cartels and their drug labs, which would obviously be a very significant escalation. Not there yet, but these drone missions, of course, obviously very significant, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Natasha, thank you so much for bringing us that reporting this morning.

Still ahead for us, survivors of the Toronto plane crash, they're speaking out this morning describing how they were hanging upside down from their seatbelts. The word from experts today on how upgrades to this type of plane involved likely helped avert a much worse disaster.

And we're also standing by to hear from Secretary of State Marco Rubio after his first sit down with Russian counterparts today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

BOLDUAN: So, how did this happen? That is among the many questions this morning about the Delta passenger jet that quite literally ended upside down after a crash landing at Toronto's Airport Monday. Passengers on the flight from Minneapolis, they found themselves hanging from their seatbelts as they saw a fire explode outside their windows.

All 76 passengers and four crews survived, were seen walking on the ceiling of the jet to escape to safety. 18 injuries were reported, though, according to the president, the head of the airport there, not life-threatening. And now, understandably so, a huge investigation is getting underway.

Joining us right now is CNN Aviation Analyst Miles O'Brien and CNN Transportation Analyst, former Inspector General for the Department of Transportation Mary Schiavo. Guys, thank you so much for getting up this morning for us.

Miles, what are your questions this morning about this?

[07:30:02]

MILE O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, I have a series of them, Kate.