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Inflation Cooled in February; Candace Laing is Interviewed about Tariffs; Questions about Covid-19; Mary Ellen O'Toole is Interviewed about the Missing University Student. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired March 12, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Removing that enormous pressure they placed on Ukraine, which was to stop U.S. military assistance and intelligence sharing, which had a genuine impact on Ukraine's ability to defend itself. So, that - that's - that's big. That's significant.

The other piece here, though, becomes, what pressure is the U.S. willing to apply on Russia, right, to - to bring Russia to the table in a substantive way? To this point, it's been rhetorical. And that - it's a notable, rhetorical shift to say that it is now up to Russia to show whether it's willing to abide by a ceasefire - agree to a ceasefire, et cetera. Is the U.S. willing to - to back that with something? Trump has talked about adding further economic sanctions, but it's hard to see how further economic sanctions would go beyond what are already in place with impact.

So, we'll see. We'll see if the - if the U.S. similarly backs up the pressure on Russia for a ceasefire that it was willing to apply to Ukraine.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I mean, you know, and how immediate an impact would be if it would be sanctions would be the option is a - is a good question.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BOLDUAN: And then, Josh, you have the initial response, I guess I'll say, from the Russian foreign minister this morning, who said - the way he put it was that the - just said, the U.S. is returning to normalcy under Trump. I think that leaves, per usual, a lot up to interpretation. I mean, what - how do you interpret that and what do you think Russia's options are now or how they view it?

JOSH ROGIN, LEAD GLOBAL SECURITY ANALYST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Right. Well, Kate, it's clear that the Russian government sees this new warming of relationships between Washington and Moscow as not just about Ukraine. They want a broad reset that includes sort of dividing the world into spheres of influence for big powers and a withdrawal of U.S. from most of its commitments in Europe. And under Trump, they just might get that. But that largely is separate and apart from actual Russian willingness to stop fighting Ukraine. And they haven't shown any willingness to do that at all.

And I think what Zelenskyy achieved here was that he put the spotlight back on the Russians to show that if there's no ceasefire it's Putin's fault, not Zelenskyy's fault. The problem with the Oval Office meeting was that it convinced Trump that the lack of peace was Zelenskyy's fault. And he blamed Zelenskyy and he punished the Ukrainians. Now it's on - on Putin. But every indication from the Russian side shows that they're only going to increase the violence. And even the things that would lead to a ceasefire, like that could last, like European troops in - in Ukraine are things that Russia has said they'll never be for. So, I think the chances of a longer-term ceasefire are actually quite low, unfortunately.

Of course, we all want to see peace. But in the end, what really matters is that if Trump's plan fails, that the Ukrainians don't get blamed and that Trump doesn't take it out on the Ukrainians by getting more Ukrainians killed, and that he realizes, which I think is more accurate, that it's the Russian's fault, not just the war, but also the lack of a road to peace.

BOLDUAN: Great point, and definitely an up in the air question right now.

When it comes to a ceasefire, Jim, you know, someone who is very eyes wide open about the history and patterns of Vladimir Putin are those that he's imprisoned. Vladimir Kara-Murza is a Russian opposition politician, you know him well, who's been - who had been held in Russia for years. He spoke with Erin Burnett last night. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, RECENTLY FREED FROM RUSSIAN PRISON AFTER CRITICIZING PUTIN: I think it is very important to understand that we can only be talking about a temporary ceasefire at best.

It is never going to abide by the civilized norms of international behavior. For as long as there's an authoritarian, belligerent, repressive regime in Russia, Russia is going to continue to remain a threat both to its own citizens and to the outside world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: I mean, his point is, is it's pretty pollyannaish to - to think that Vladimir Putin is going to agree to any ceasefire, you know, by the definition of what a ceasefire should mean.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

Listen, he might agree to it. Does he abide by it, right? And recent history has shown, no. He invaded Ukraine twice in the last 11 years, 2014, 2022. He - he violated every attempt to - to broker a ceasefire in the previous iteration. After 2014, the Minsk agreements, et cetera. His track record is lousy.

And it's not just in relation to Ukraine. I mean, look at other countries in Europe. He invaded Georgia in 2008, didn't really give up there, and is now trying to take over the country, in effect, via political interference. And think of Kara-Murza, how he can speak with authority, right, because this extends even farther.

Anyone who challenges Putin's power domestically gets imprisoned or killed. And regardless of where they are, right? I mean Putin has proven himself willing to - to murder his political opponents and dissidents outside of Russia as well.

So, the track record is not good. It doesn't mean you don't attempt to make peace. But you have to make peace knowing that quite recent and concerning history.

[08:35:06]

BOLDUAN: Yes, I think, you know, the end result of the marathon meeting yesterday was that the easiest thing was getting back on the same page with what will be an ally now in - you know, back to square -

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Barely back to square where they began, which is, what's Russia going to do and concede.

It's great to see you guys. Thanks, Jim. Thanks, Josh.

SCIUTTO: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Good to see you.

So, an expanding search, a widening investigation and a new - and new video now out of some of the final moments before an American college student went missing while on spring break in the Dominican Republic. We've got much more on that.

And a critical check in on the state of inflation in America has just been released. The picture that this big inflation report - inflation report is now painting, and what impact it may have on the direction of President Trump's trade war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:01]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking moments ago, it is not all doom and gloom. A brand-new report shows inflation slowed slightly last month.

CNN's Matt Egan joins us now with more.

This is a welcome sign, but.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Sara, finally we have some good news on the economy. And really the number one issue for many Americans, the cost of living. So we just learned that consumer prices in February increased by. 2.8 percent year over year, 0.2 percent month over month. Both of these figures were a step in the right direction and both were better than expected.

SIDNER: OK.

EGAN: So this is definitely very encouraging to see because it's going to, I think, relieve some fears that inflation was perhaps re- accelerating because this actually breaks a streak of four straight months where, I think you can see it on the chart all the way to the right, where the inflation rate was going in the wrong direction, right? It was going higher and higher. Finally we're seeing it dip, not back to the 2 percent goal, but nice to see it cool off here.

Digging into some of the items here. One thing that I know everyone cares about right now is egg prices. And we did see another big increase in egg prices. This is just month over month, 10 percent. But believe it or not, this is also an improvement because the month before we saw a 15 percent monster increase. And also more recently, some of the numbers that have come out from the USDA on wholesale egg prices have shown an improvement because there's been fewer outbreaks of bird flu and less demand.

But here's the big asterisk with all of this, it doesn't really account for the tariffs, right? This is the February inflation report. So, yes, it does include the initial 10 percent tariffs on China but not the 20 percent tariffs on China. Not the limited 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, not the auto tariffs, the steel and aluminum tariffs that just went into effect.

SIDNER: Not the current 25 percent tariffs across the board on aluminum.

EGAN: Right, the reciprocal tariffs.

SIDNER: Yes.

EGAN: So, the question is, will all of those tariffs short circuit the improvement in inflation and perhaps make prices go even higher.

SIDNER: We will have to wait and see. But that was a nice indicator for a lot of people to show inflation ticking down instead of going up.

EGAN: For the moment.

SIDNER: We will see what happens with these tariffs.

Thank you so much, Matt Egan. Really appreciate it.

EGAN: Thank you, Sara.

SIDNER: Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, this morning, the world is watching and responding to President Trump's new now global tariff rollout. The 25 percent tariff just imposed on all aluminum and steel imports, that set in at midnight. And almost immediately the EU retaliated, imposing new tariffs on American goods to the tune of billions of dollars. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business and worse for consumers. They are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. Jobs are at stake. Prices are up. Nobody needs that on both sides, neither in the European Union nor in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now is Candace Laing. She is the president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Thank you so much for coming in.

The EU and the rest of the globe is experiencing what Canada has already been feeling for weeks now. From your view, add in now steel and aluminum to what Canada is also facing, Canadian businesses and taxpayers. How are aluminum - these aluminum and steel imports, add it all in, how is it now going to impact Canada further?

CANDACE LAING, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CANADIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Well, definitely this tariff trauma is now taking its toll. And businesses now are seeing markets are so frustrated with the uncertainty and chaos. And Canadians are angry and rallying like we've never seen before. But of course, we've never seen Canada treated like this by the U.S. before.

And our reaction is not just because we feel this loss and betrayal from a friend and ally, but it's because the grievances that underpin this strategy, this trade policy, these grievances do not lie with Canada, yet here we are in a trade war with tariffs, tariffs are taxes, and they are weakening us both at a time when we need to be focusing on our economic security.

BOLDUAN: How are businesses responding in Canada to this? I mean, what are they doing in response and - and really in retaliation? Because we've seen - we've seen certain aspects of the response and what to do. You said they're - they're - Canadians are rallying. You've seen American liquor pulled from store shelves. I was just seeing reporting that Canadians are boycotting Colgate toothpaste as well, substituting it for a Canadian brand called Green Beaver. I mean, I'm wondering how extensive boycotts like that go and what you are hearing.

LAING: Well, what I'm hearing and what we're seeing is that behavior absolutely in the grocery stores.

[08:45:03]

Canadians are checking labels. Some stores have to discount American goods because they're not moving at this point in time.

But I think, to your question from the business community's perspective, just last week I led a business delegation down to Washington, D.C., because we know that taxes on goods, which is just what tariffs are, an additional tax, drive up costs of all these things, and they hurt Americans just as much as Canadians.

So, what we talked about in D.C. last week, the business communities on both sides of the border, is how important the full comprehension of our supply chains are. I can come back to steel and aluminum. There are so many American jobs that depend on the inputs. The - and I think, Alex, what's really - oh, sorry, Kate, what's really important is that when you look at what Canada exports to the U.S., the U.S. imports a lot from Canada, 70 percent of that is stuff to make other stuff in the U.S. So, when you're thinking about a trade policy that's trying to bolster manufacturing and bring back jobs to the U.S., Canada is the number one partner for that. And we're the best customer of the U.S. as well. And we import a lot of goods from the U.S.

So, I think what is so important right now, and the business community is very active on this, is making sure the integration of our supply chains, how that serves the manufacturing and jobs on both sides of the border is just so important, yet so frustrating because the strategy seems to be a broad approach and then a walk back of these impacts on tariffs when - when those impacts and regressive aspects are actually felt instead of factored in ahead of time.

BOLDUAN: Candace Laing, with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, thank you for coming in.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, five years ago this week the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a global pandemic. We asked you to submit your questions about Covid and share your reflections on how it changed your life.

Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is back in the house with us.

Sanjay, we got a lot of questions about long Covid.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

SIDNER: Here is Candy from Oregon, and she says, "what are the statistics for people who have breathing problems long after having Covid-19?

GUPTA: Yes, this was the most common question. And I got to tell you, just on a personal note, I get dozens of emails from people still every day about their long Covid symptoms. So, so sort of strictly speaking, long Covid is defined as something where you have symptoms that are persisting at least three months after your infection. Some say six months, but at least three months after the infection. And if you look at the data overall in the country, about 30 percent of people who had Covid had long covid. So, they got symptoms that appeared and they did not go away, at least for several months. Tended to be more affected in people who had a very severe case of Covid and people who had underlying conditions. So, there were risk factors for this.

But take a look at sort of the things that long Covid can sort of cause. You know, you think about brain fog, fatigue, things like that. But breathing problems, to Candy's question, is also on that list. So, this is something that can happen. It can also worsen other underlying symptoms as well. So, if you had migraines, for example, in the past, it could worsen your migraines.

This can be hard to sort of parse out because there was a lot of things going on in society at the same time. So, what is Covid versus what is not. But again, a severe infection that has persisted in terms of symptoms.

Now, the good news is, when it comes to breathing problems, for example, if you look at a recent Hopkins study, the symptoms do tend to get better, even if it can take a long time. And there are certain breathing exercises which, Candy, you should look up to try and find some of those breathing exercises you can even do at home, which do seem to make a difference. So, potentially some good news.

SIDNER: Yes. There are some online things that you can use that help you sort of breathe in, hold your breath, and then breathe out, you know. Yes.

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, you think about the scarring and the inflammation in the lungs.

SIDNER: Yes.

GUPTA: That's what's typically driving those breathing problems that Candy's talking about. Again, over time, that does seem to improve.

SIDNER: All right, we've got a question from George from California who says, I'd like to know what the latest rules of thumb are regarding vaccinations. I just got a flu and Covid vaccine shots in September, and I'm hoping for the best.

GUPTA: Yes.

SIDNER: There is a lot of - look, there is a lot of skepticism about vaccines that has been fueled because of Covid and because of some of the folks, the HHS secretary included, who have sort of pushed this idea that you don't necessarily need them.

GUPTA: Right.

SIDNER: And now people are starting to question themselves. You hear him there sort of saying, look, I went to get it, but I don't know what the rule of thumb is.

GUPTA: Yes. Yes. So, I mean, he did the right thing in getting the vaccines. And, first of all, he mentioned flu and Covid.

SIDNER: Yes.

GUPTA: Flu has been pretty bad this year.

SIDNER: Yes.

GUPTA: It's probably been the most intense it's been in about a decade.

[08:50:01]

So, a lot of people who have severe respiratory sort of illness, oftentimes they're dealing with flu as well.

SIDNER: Right.

GUPTA: So, both these things.

Rule of thumb, generally speaking is, you can treat the Covid shots sort of like you treat the flu shot. So, you know, he's getting a flu shot every year. The Covid shot every year. The immunity from these vaccines - like, you get a measles shot, for example, that can last your whole life.

SIDNER: Right.

GUPTA: When it comes to flu and Covid, the virus tends to change a lot.

SIDNER: It mutates, right?

GUPTA: It mutates, which is why you need to get updated immunity from it.

Now, if you've had Covid recently, then you have immunity for a period of time. They say several months at least. So, that's something to take into account. But everyone should be getting their Covid vaccines.

I will say, people who are over the age of 65, people who have an immune compromised condition of some sort, they're the most at risk. So, they're the ones that really need to pay attention to this. And when I say most at risk, most at risk for severe illness. A lot of people can get, you know, moderate illness, which can be pretty bad.

SIDNER: Right.

GUPTA: I mean it can knock you down for a few days, takes kids out of school, all that sort of stuff. Getting the vaccine certainly does help with that.

SIDNER: Just quickly, can you get both the Covid shot and the flu shot together?

GUPTA: Yes.

SIDNER: Like, you know, is that cause a problem or no?

GUPTA: No, it does not cause a problem. These are different viruses. So, the vaccines are slightly different. You might have, you know, a more sore arm for a period of time. But, yes, you can get them both.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much, Sanjay Gupta.

GUPTA: You got it.

SIDNER: It's always a pleasure to have you in the house with us.

GUPTA: Thank you.

SIDNER: All right, new this morning, a woman went missing after a car crash. How she survived in a ditch in that car for nearly a week before being discovered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:56:01]

BOLDUAN: An incredible rescue in Indiana to tell you about. A missing mother of three miraculously found alive six days after crashing her car into a ditch. According to authorities, 41-year-old Brieonna Cassell reportedly fell asleep at the wheel before driving off of the road. The ditch so deep that no one from the road could see or hear her, apparently. She was trapped. No phone, no power to the car, obviously, and no severe - and with severe injuries to her legs, ribs and wrist. Her father says she did everything she could to stay alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELMAR CALDWELL, CASSELL'S FATHER: She was in excruciating pain. She was screaming out for help. She was using her hoodie and wringing it to get a drink of water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Unbelievable.

We're going to show you this man behind me right now, Johnny Martinez. He is being called a hero after he spotted her car yesterday and called for help. Cassell, we're told, was conscious and speaking when she was rescued and is now in the hospital recovering. Unbelievable.

Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, Kate, pretty incredible.

All right, this morning, the search is intensifying for missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, as authorities say newly released surveillance video shows her just moments before she vanished while on spring break. In the video, the 20-year-old is seen leaving a hotel in the Dominican Republic with a group of friends and a gentleman you see there. This was in the early morning hours last Thursday. Police in Punta Cana say Konanki's sarong cover up was found on a chair on a nearby beach, adding there were no signs of violence.

Joining me now is Mary Ellen O'Toole, a former senior FBI profiler and special agent.

Thank you so much for joining us.

I just want to start with some possibilities here. I mean, right now, authorities have said there is no - no suspect that they have in mind that something nefarious happened. Is there a possibility she went into the water and potentially drowned?

MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER SENIOR PROFILER AND SPECIAL AGENT, FBI: Yes, that certainly is a possibility. And it's not unusual at all in a case like this where there are two possibilities or three or four. So it's really imperative for law enforcement to pursue separate lines of investigation so they can start immediately ruling out what it is and what it isn't.

SIDNER: We're seeing the surveillance video of the gentleman that she was with there in Punta Cana. The last person we understand to have seen her before she disappeared. He gave a couple of differing details to police, but police say, look, they - they were not significant - significantly different, and they're not calling him, in any way, a suspect. But he is there and is being told to sort of stay in put - stay put while they investigate this case.

I mean what all does that - that tell you, because he is not, at this point, considered a suspect in any way.

O'TOOLE: Great question. So, what that tells me is that they're not satisfied with the thoroughness of the information that he provided. And there could be reasons for that. He could be nervous, he could be afraid, or he knows something more. So that's number one.

But number two, what's also important is that, in the FBI, what we do is we create what's known as a victimology. So, in a case like this, we would, in the behavioral analysis unit, we would learn as much as possible about the victim. What are her patterns of behavior? Is it typical for her to have engaged in this behavior, had something to drink and then gone with somebody she didn't know very well, or is that completely out of the norm for her? So, this victimology, you're developing an idea of what this persons habits and behaviors would be and how they contrast with what they might be when you're on vacation. And this becomes important to understand if something happened that's very nefarious or if it could have been an accident.

[08:59:58]

So that victimology, I'm not sure if it's being done. I'm sure the FBI is encouraging it and offering to help. But again, the FBI is not in charge of this investigation.

SIDNER: Right. Involved but not in charge.