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War Between Ukraine And Russia Entering Second Year; Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Asking U.S. For F-16 Fighter Jets To Help With Battle Against Russian Invasion; China Offers Peace Proposal To End War Between Russia And Ukraine; Blizzard Warnings In Effect In Southern California; Environmental Protection Agency Asking Rail Company Involved Ohio Derailment To Stop Shipments Of Hazardous Waste; Former South Carolina Attorney Alex Murdaugh Takes Stand In His Own Murder Trial; Unexpected Uptick In Inflation In U.S. Economy In January, 2023, Has Economists Worried About Possible Recession; Russian Citizens Attempt To Flee To U.S. To Avoid Being Drafted Into Military To Fight In Ukraine; Nigeria Holds Presidential Election. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired February 25, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:06]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And as the war in Ukraine enters its second year, the U.S. and its western allies are reaffirming their commitment to support Ukraine. Another round of sanctions is targeting Russia a year after its tanks rolled across the border, and the U.S. is also delivering another $2 billion in military support to Ukraine. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy was defiant when he spoke on yesterday's anniversary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If we all do our homework, victory will be inevitable. I am certain there will be victory. I don't think, I want it this year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In parts of Ukraine today, there has been no let-up in the fighting. A Russian military spokesman said up to 60 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in fighting on the eastern front. CNN's Melissa Bill is in Kyiv, Priscilla Alvarez is at the White House. Melissa, to you first. Are there any signs of the major Russian offensive that Ukraine has been warning about?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There has been this intensification, Fredricka, but very much confined to the east of the country. All along that line and at several lines along it, and according both to Ukrainian sources and to Russian state media, what we have been seeing is an increase in the violence along that front line, and specifically along areas around Bakhmut.

What we've been hearing this evening, Fredricka, now that all the ceremonies for the first year anniversary have passed, is that the result of the intensification of the fighting appears to be gains for the Russian side.

That is certainly what the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that group that's been so instrumental in allowing Russia to keep adding to the depleted ranks it has around the town as it tries to encircle it, is that a couple of key villages to the north and northwest have now fallen.

And we're also hearing from the Ukrainian side how difficult it is for the Ukrainian army to continue holding the town, specifically complaining about a lack of aircraft, a lack of long-range artillery, and a lack of tanks that is making it difficult for them to keep control of it.

Clearly if it fell, this would be a major gain for the Russians. They've been trying and concentrating for so much, for so long now, their resources on this town, that if it fell it would, of course, be a gateway to other towns in the Donbas, which would mean they might achieve this objective that Ukrainians fear they have, of trying to take the whole of the Donbas by the end of March. So it is that line in the east that we're looking at very carefully.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, things have been relatively quiet. We've seen over the last couple of days ongoing strikes against infrastructure in places like Kherson, but more broadly those major attacks, that major uptick were the symbolic attacks that the Ukrainians have been warning off simply haven't materialized elsewhere. It is very much a focus on that front line as Russians try and push it forward, Fredricka, inch by bloody inch.

WHITFIELD: And Priscilla, the aid package announced by the White House yesterday did not include the F-16 jets that President Zelenskyy has been wanting for a very long time. What is the president saying, President Biden, saying about that?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN REPORTER: Well, President Biden is saying quite simply that he's ruling it out for now. These would be advanced American fighter jets that Ukraine is asking for as they look toward an offensive coming in the weeks or months. So take a listen to what President Biden had to say insofar as to what happens next with the fighter jets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're sending them what our seasoned military thinks he needs now. He needs tanks, he needs artillery, he needs air defense including another HIMARS. There's things he needs now that we're sending him to put him in a position to be able to make gains this spring and this summer, going into the fall. He doesn't need F-16s now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: So President Biden making clear that as of right now they don't see the need to send these fighter jets to Ukraine. Now, this has been a controversial ask because of concerns that he could escalate the conflict. But Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has been campaigning for this, sending a list even to a group of Republican lawmakers that included these F-16s.

Now, of course, over the course of the week, President Biden made clear that the U.S. is standing with Ukraine, that their support is not wavering, and that they will continue to provide assistance. But for now those F-16s not on the table, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, Priscilla, China is now offering a peace proposal to end the conflict. Does the White House believe this is sincere?

[14:05:00]

ALVAREZ: There's quite a bit of scrutiny as to whether or not this is sincere, Fredricka. This was a 12-point plan put out by China that put out, for example, things like respecting sovereignty or resuming peace talks. But it had no concrete proposals as to how to do that. President Biden weighed in on what he thinks of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Putin is applauding it, so how can it be any good? I'm not being facetious. I'm being deadly earnest. I've seen nothing in the plan that would indicate that there is something that would be beneficial to anyone other than Russia if the Chinese plan were followed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Of course, this comes against the backdrop of intelligence that suggests that China may provide drones and ammunition to Russia, so for now the U.S. is scrutinizing this peace plan they released this week, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Priscilla Alvarez, Melissa Bell, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

Let's bring in now retired general Wesley Clark. He is a CNN military analyst and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. Good to see you. So we've heard President Biden say that Ukraine doesn't need the F-16 fighter jets right now. If not now, when, in your view?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Well, they are already using their own high-performance aircraft, the Ukrainians are, and these are somewhat obsolescent, but they're still useful. They're making air strikes every day. The aircraft are wearing out, they're replacing parts, they're bringing in parts from other countries, and they're struggling to maintain it.

But if you're going to provide F-16s, you've got to have a training program for it. You can't snap your fingers and say, OK, you're going to get some F-16s. We're going to fly them over tomorrow, take over. No, it's about a nine-month training program for a Ukrainian pilot to go into an F-16. So I would like to see the training programs begin now. They should have begun a long time ago. Then you can make the decision when they need it.

But here's the thing, Fredricka. We're in a seesaw battle in Ukraine right now. And as your correspondents reported, there's really heavy pressure on the east. We don't know what Ukraine has in its pocket to do the counteroffensive. They're keeping that very closely held.

But if Ukraine can't pressure, what Putin wants most, which is Crimea, then he's unlikely to come to the negotiating table this year. It's going to be another year, another year after that. And so it would be really smart to start the training for these Ukrainian pilots on the F-16s right now.

WHITFIELD: So do you have concerns that supplying longer-range missiles and possibly jets would spark a serious escalation in this war?

CLARK: I don't share those concerns. I think time is not necessarily on the side of Ukraine. It's a democracy with a coalition of democracies trying to support it. Russia has got a dictatorship, four times the population.

So he mobilizes that, pushes those troops forward. He could do it this year, next year, and China is waiting in the wings. So I would be arguing that we need to accelerate our weapons deliveries, get the pressure on Crimea, announce the conditions for negotiation, don't let China do that.

Say Russia out, abductees and prisoners returned, reparations, war crimes, get all that out on the table, take the initiative diplomatically, and provide the military wherewithal to drive Putin to the negotiating table.

WHITFIELD: Have a look now at this map that shows Russian forces across Ukraine over the last year, and Russia has barely held on to what territory it did grab. Why has the east been one of the few places Russia has succeeded in holding?

CLARK: Well, first of all, they were in the east from the beginning. So from 2014 they occupied. They did have troops there. They had leadership there with the separatist units that were there. So it was a tougher fight. And Ukraine at the beginning only elected to hold in the east.

So Ukraine had three defensive lines in the east about where they were, and they basically held. Then Ukraine concentrated on regaining terrain in the north and the south and protecting Odessa. So this is a logical consequence.

Now Russia is putting its offensive power there in the east because this is the shortest supply line back to Russia. And they're operating from the stronger defensive positions in the east. So that's why this has heated up here. But what they would like to do is bleed out the Ukrainian forces, either get a breakthrough or force Ukraine to send its operational strike force in as reserves to prevent a breakthrough.

[14:10:06] WHITFIELD: I want to shift gears just a little bit, but it still pertains to Ukraine. Do you think, while China, President Xi Jinping, is planning to visit Moscow, do you believe in any way China can help propose and set into place any kind of peace plan for Ukraine?

CLARK: Well, what was proposed is nonsense, really. What it is is a ceasefire in place. Let's have Russia keep what it's got and then let's talk about it. And that's not going to result in anything favorable to Ukraine or to the west.

So we're looking with concern at the Xi visit and what he's saying, because as the intelligence indicates, there is consideration by China of upping war support. There are already, obviously, some Chinese military observers and other people, no doubt, who are closely connected, watching the Russian operations.

We don't ever hear about this. I'm sure it's there because it's just a normal thing that they would do. China doesn't want to get in with Russia if Russia's losing. But China doesn't want Russia to lose. So it's a difficult position for China. Xi Jinping is still trying to rebuild his economy. His military is not quite ready to go after Taiwan, so this is not the climactic period that we're afraid of. So he's marking time on this.

But what he would be happy to have is a continuing bleed-out of the west and the distraction of the west toward Ukraine rather than focusing on strengthening deterrents in Asia.

WHITFIELD: All makes sense. General Wesley Clark, thank you so much. Good to see you.

CLARK: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: This is hard to believe. A rare winter storm is wreaking havoc in southern California. Snow piling up right now in parts of Los Angeles County. Can you believe it? Some areas could see eight feet of snowfall this weekend. The storm also washing out roads, dumping heavy rainfall in the usually sunny So-Cal region, putting more than 20 million people under flood watches.

CNN's Camila Bernal is in the snow, in the thick of it, in Lebec, California. CNN meteorologist Britley Ritz is in the CNN weather center. So Camila, you first.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey Fred, it is still snowing out here and raining in a lot of the L.A. area. Officials saying that a lot of the highways in the L.A. area are closed. So they're asking everyone to stay home, if possible. Normally where I'm standing now, you would be able to see Interstate 5, and normally you would see all the traffic. Instead, you're seeing all of the snow and an empty highway.

We did see one snow truck, but it's just going to take a long time for officials here to figure out how to deal with the snow and rain because this is so abnormal here in the Los Angeles area and in the county. We are told that the highway will remain closed for an indefinite amount of time as they continue to try to clean that up.

This is a major highway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A lot of the traffic in the area essentially stuck if they were here when the highway was closed. We talked to a lot of the drivers that have been stranded with nowhere to go, having to sleep here overnight, some of them even sleeping in their cars. Here are some of those drivers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM WHITE, TRUCK DRIVER: I've been driving for, like, 16 years, but I've never seen it like this in California. I try to avoid it or get around it or beat it out, and evidently it caught me. I didn't think it was going to be dumping this much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden this blizzard came out of nowhere, then the I-5 closed down, and now we can't leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: I just want to walk a little bit to show you how deep the snow is. We've been here over the last couple of days. We are also stuck here. There's nowhere to go at the moment. In the higher elevation areas, we could get seven, eight feet of snow. In the lower elevation, maybe three, four feet of snow.

There's a lot of wind in some of the most impacted areas, maybe 75, 80-mile-per-hour winds. A lot of people without power. We checked just a moment ago. About 125,000 people in California without power right now.

And there is more snow, more rain. And officials in the L.A. area telling people to be careful because there are cars stranded in floodwaters, cars that are spinning out. It is going to continue to be cold, so you're going to also have black ice. That's what we're seeing here.

[14:15:00]

There was so much rain yesterday afternoon that now things are frozen. And so, again, that's what we're expecting over the next couple of days. It could be historic. But a lot of warnings for people in this area who are not used to the snow, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's potentially very dangerous. Thank you so much, Camila Bernal.

Britley, to you in the Weather Center. How long is this going to go on?

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know, it feels like it's going to last forever for people down in southern California who aren't typically used to this kind of weather. One thing to note from Camila's live shot was the very fact that the lakes were so large, even though the wind is not blowing all that much, I'm sure it is every once in a while, but the visibility looked like it was down near a quarter of a mile. So travel, again, the roads are already slick, but then visibility becomes a big issue. So again, travel not advised.

The system itself still sitting over southern California. This is going to be an ongoing thing for the next 24 hours for many of these alerts. Heavy snow still falling through parts of the Sierra Mountain ranges and down into the southern California higher elevations. And then rain finally starting to taper back, but still dealing with the threat for flooding.

Blizzard warnings, again, still in effect for that area highlighted in orange. We do have winter storm alerts all across the southwest part of the country as the system continues to take its trek farther eastward. So the four corners getting in on the action by the time we get into Sunday morning, and then, of course, the severe weather threat as we roll into the plains over the upcoming next system.

Watch this, roll in as it presses into Monday and Tuesday. So more rain to come for northern California this go-around. As for the first system, you're noticing the pink, the darker pink. That's 18 to 24 more inches on top of what we've already picked up through Sunday.

And then, of course, the greens and the yellows there for the valleys just south of L.A., talking about picking up close to two to three more inches of rain on top of what we've already dealt with. So, again, travel not advised, not only for the snow and ice, but the threat for flooding.

If you do come across a roadway with water, turn around and find a different route. That will save you life. We talked about that system pressing further eastward, dealing with the threat for severe weather. There it is highlighted in red now, a moderate risk for severe weather for western Oklahoma. Damaging winds, that's the biggest threat. But isolated tornadoes can't be ruled out, either, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Britley Ritz, thank you so much.

Alex Murdaugh grilled for hours on the witness stand by prosecutors in the double murder trial. Murdaugh admitted to previously lying to investigators about his whereabouts the night of the murders, but he insists he did not kill his wife and son. Much more straight ahead.

Plus, President Biden says he has no plans to travel to East Palestine, Ohio, and is defending his administration's response to the toxic trail derailment. We'll have a live update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:21:54]

WHITFIELD: Now to the latest on the catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Later this afternoon, FEMA will provide an update on cleanup efforts there. And this comes as we're now learning the Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Norfolk Southern to stop its shipments of toxic waste to other states. Officials in Texas and Michigan say they had no idea that contaminated water and soil would be shipped into their jurisdictions for disposal. Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell said Friday that contaminated

soil was being taken to a hazardous waste facility in her state. And last hour I spoke with the congresswoman, who said she had not been given a heads-up about the delivery. She also called for a national discussion about where and how to dispose of toxic waste.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL, (D-MI): None of us wants toxic waste in our backyard. These few sites that have been approved, and I think we're going to see a national discussion about where and how you dispose of toxic waste.

These two sites happen to be in communities with populations around them, and quite frankly, they're communities that aren't as well off as some other suburban areas, and so you get into an environmental justice subject. I think we do have to have a real conversation about where to dispose of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Palo Sandoval is following the story for us. So Polo, tell us more about these shipments and why the EPA put a pause on transporting them right now.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They want to learn more, Fred. At this point, based on what we're hearing from officials both in Michigan and Texas, there doesn't seem to be sort of any sort of malicious driver behind these shipments.

However, there are real questions that are still unanswered, and that's why the EPA is basically asking the rail company involved in the derailment earlier this month to stop shipments of hazardous waste from the site to licensed disposal facilities in Texas and Michigan.

Let's start in Harris County, for example, which is the most populated county in the lone star state, the county's city, of course, being Houston. Lina Hidalgo, the chief executive there, recently saying that she learned that half of about 2 million gallons of firefighting water, contaminated water, were already being disposed of in a facility in her community.

But she also expressed frustration that though there's no legal requirement for her to be notified, that much of this water was already in her community. So she does feel that something just doesn't seem right here in terms of officials that are responsible for the cleanup in Ohio not informing her.

And also officials in Wayne County, Michigan, where we are also hearing that officials there insisting that they were not notified that contaminated soil that was shipped to a licensed facility in their community as well. Of course, you had the conversation with the congresswoman from Michigan raising some serious questions, but again, really echoing what we're hearing from Texas, that they don't believe it is appropriately, or properly, rather, being disposed of.

[14:25:00]

But this certainly has potential to expand the controversy. Since the beginning we have heard from members of the community there in East Palestine, Ohio, complaining about the lack of information that's being shared with them. Obviously, they're the real victims here having to deal with this massive cleanup.

But how we are hearing from officials in Texas and elected officials in Michigan as well, saying that if some of this material that does need to be disposed of properly, if it ends up in their communities, they simply want to be notified.

And that's why the EPA is now essentially putting this on pause as they try to reassure people, at least find out that the right steps are being taken when it comes to disposing of the soil at the site and also the firefighting water. Millions of gallons of it.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right, Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

Turning now to the trial of accused double murderer Alex Murdaugh, he admits that he was at the scene in his dog kennels just minutes before his wife and son were brutally slaughtered, and he admits to having a pill addiction for roughly two decades. But insists he is not a killer. The disgraced former attorney was back on the witness stand Friday facing a second round of tough questioning. CNN's Randi Kaye was there.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ALEX MURDAUGH, ALLEGED TO HAVE KILLED WIFE AND SON: I have lied well over a decade.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lies, that's what lead prosecutor, Creighton Waters, was trying to expose with Alex Murdaugh on the stand.

MURDAUGH: I told a lie about being down there and I got myself wed to that.

KAYE: For hours, Waters tried to box Murdaugh into a corner using cell phone data and timeline evidence from the night of the murders.

MURDAUGH: I'm still not absolutely certain exactly how they ended up at the kennel.

KAYE: Murdaugh told the jury he drove his golf cart to meet his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at the kennels. He says that was just before Paul Murdaugh recorded this kennel video. Murdaugh can be heard talking in the background.

MURDAUGH: It certainly could have been 8:47, before I left out of there.

KAYE: Murdaugh estimated it's about a two-minute drive on the golf cart from the kennel to the main house, which would put him there at 8:49 PM, the very same time prosecutors say Maggie and Paul's phones ceased all activity, suggesting they were dead. Once back at the house --

CREIGHTON WATERS, PROSECUTOR: You lay down on the couch.

MURDAUGH: That's correct.

KAYE: Keep in mind, Murdaugh's phone showed no activity from 8:09 to 9:02. He says he left it at the main house when he went down to the kennels.

WATERS: You would agree with me that from 9:02 to 9:06, your phone finally comes to life and starts showing a lot of steps. And that's far more steps in a shorter time period than any time prior as you've seen from the testimony in this case. So what were you so busy doing?

MURDAUGH: That's --

WATERS: Going to the bathroom?

MURDAUGH: No, I don't think that I went to bathroom.

WATERS: Did you get on a treadmill?

MURDAUGH: No, I did not get on the treadmill.

WATERS: Jog in place.

MURDAUGH: No, I didn't job in place. And what I wasn't doing is doing anything, as I believe you've implied, that I was cleaning off or washing off or washing off guns, putting guns in a raincoat, and I can promise you that I wasn't doing any of that.

KAYE: Along with all the steps Murdaugh took, data presented in court shows he made a flurry of phone calls.

WATERS: Finally having your phone in your hand, moving around and making all these phone calls to manufacture an alibi. Is that not true?

MURDAUGH: That's absolutely incorrect.

KAYE: Meanwhile, Murdaugh's attempt to show he had been trying to cooperate with investigators backfired.

MURDAUGH: Other than lying to them about going to the kennel, I was cooperative in every aspect of this investigation.

WATERS: Very cooperative, except for maybe the most important fact of all, that you were at the murder scene with the victims just minutes before they died.

KAYE: The prosecutor did his best to prove to the jury no one other than Alex Murdaugh could have killed his wife and son.

WATERS: What you're telling this jury is that it's a random vigilante that just happened to know that Paul and Maggie were both at Moselle on June 7th, that knew that they would be at the kennels alone on June the 7th, and knew that you would not be there, but only between the times of 8:49 and 9:02.

MURDAUGH: You got a lot of factors in there, Mr. Waters, all of which I do not agree with, but some of which I do.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Walterboro, South Carolina.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: And some unwelcome economic news. We may not be done with inflation just yet. Newly released data from the Federal Reserve showing that inflation unexpectedly surged again. Up next, what this means for your wallet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:33:57]

WHITFIELD: Some unexpected inflation news has some economists worried about a possible recession. One of the Feds go-to inflation gauges unexpectedly rising in January, and then abruptly ending months of a downward trend. So what does all of this mean? Here to help us understand it, CNN economics and political commentator Catherine Rampell. So good to see you, Catherine. So we have this inflation number ticking up for the first time in months. But for people already dealing with these higher prices, how will they feel the effects?

CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, even if the number had stayed about where it was, that doesn't necessarily mean people are going to feel a lot of relief. Inflation still means prices are going up. They're not going down. So we're not expecting any sort of downward trend in the actual price of things. It's just how quickly or how slowly those prices are growing.

This recent month of data is one month, so I don't want to get over my skis and read too much in one month's report, but it's disconcerting.

[14:35:00]

It suggests that even after eight consecutive Fed rate hikes, we're still seeing a very hot economy. It's been very difficult to cool demand, to cool consumer spending, and that's continuing to put pressure on prices and will probably lead to more interest rate hikes going forward.

WHITFIELD: So from May of last year to January, the Fed has raised interest rates seven times. So does this latest inflation uptick put even more pressure on the Fed to raise interest rates again?

RAMPELL: Most likely. It had been expected that the Fed would raise interest rates at its next meeting in a few weeks in March at least a little bit. The question now is are they going to have to raise rates even more aggressively than they had planned.

So rather than a quarter of a percentage point, a half a percentage point, and how much more in the months ahead might they continue to have to raise the cost of borrowing, which is essentially what they're doing, to try to cool down consumer spending and demand more broadly.

So yes, it does look like interest rates will continue to rise and they will probably continue rising at a faster pace than had been expected not very long ago.

WHITFIELD: Would that mean pushing the nation closer into a possible recession?

RAMPELL: Well, in the near term it means things like mortgage rates, credit card rates, auto loan rates, et cetera, go up. Whether or not that actually leads to a downturn ultimately, we don't know. The Fed, of course, is trying to avoid that outcome. They're trying to raise rates just enough to tame inflation, but not so much that they kill the economic expansion entirely.

Historically, that's been really challenging to get that calibrated exactly right. When the Fed has raised interest rates in the past, most of the time, again, to deal with inflation, most of the time they have accidently pushed us into recession. So they're trying to avoid recession. It still looks like there's a high risk of one, even if it's not necessarily absolutely going to happen.

WHITFIELD: Do you remain optimistic?

RAMPELL: I'm a little bit more optimistic than I was a few months ago.

WHITFIELD: That's a no.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: That big sigh.

RAMPELL: I know. It's so dangerous to make predictions about these things. I've gotten egg on my face many times before doing so.

I am worried about the prospect of a downturn. I hope that if we have one, it will be relatively mild and that fewer people will lose their jobs than has been the case in previous recessions. But if you're one of the people who lost your job, that's cold comfort to know that there aren't as many people accompanying you this time around.

So the hope, of course, is still that the Fed can take some of the wind out of the sails out of this economy without entirely destroying the recovery. But there's going to be some pain. It's just a matter of how much.

WHITFIELD: Catherine Rampell, good to see you, thanks so much.

RAMPELL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: The NTSB is investigating another near miss on a flight runway, the fourth runway incursion since the start of the year. Investigators say the crew of a Mesa Airlines flight aborted their landing on the approach right as a Sky West flight was taking off from the same Burbank, California, runway. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Air shuttle 5826, affirmative runway 33 clear to land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he off the runway yet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: This latest close call happening just weeks after an incident in Honolulu where a United Airlines 777 jet crossed a runway where a smaller cargo plane was landing. And then days before that, an American Airlines flight at JFK crossed in front of a Delta plane trying to take off. And then there was the near miss in Austin, where a FedEx plan almost landed right on top of a Southwest flight. The FAA says they are conducting a sweeping safety review.

And Heinz ketchup wants to catch up with a sailor, and they need your help. You may remember the man who spent weeks lost at sea who survived mostly on a bottle of ketchup? Well, his name is Elvis Francois, and the condiment company wants to gift him with a brand new state of the art boat.

Problem is, they can't find him. They say they have reached out to his home nation of Dominica, as well as his rescuers, the Columbian Navy. So the retailer has sent out an SOS with the hashtag "Find the ketchup boat guy" on its Instagram page for any credible leads. So if you can help.

The war in Ukraine has not only displaced Ukrainian families, but also has Russian families on the run. Nearly 22,000 have tried to enter the U.S. since Vladimir Putin's war draft was first announced. Up next, we'll bring you one family's complex journey.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:44:04]

WHITFIELD: A staggering number of Russians has been trying to seek asylum in the U.S. since Vladimir Putin imposed a military draft last September. And since October, nearly 22,000 Russian citizens have tried to enter the United States through the southern border. Over the past six months, the encounters from Russians at the border have tripled. CNN's Rosa Flores caught up with one Russian family who made this daring journey.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mikhail and Nailia Manzurin loved life in Russia with their two boys, Mark and Philip.

MIKHAIL MANZURIN, RUSSIAN RESIDENT: Life was good.

FLORES: But their world turned upside down last September when Vladimir Putin declared the first draft since World War II, drafting men Mikhail's age.

MANZURIN: I don't want to kill innocent people of Ukraine. They are protecting their territories. They are protecting their homes.

[14:45:00]

FLORES: Mikhail thought about his own family.

MANZURIN: I was afraid for my boys. I was afraid for my family.

FLORES: Was that your biggest fear?

MANZURIN: Yes, one of my biggest fears, of course.

FLORES: At the time, fear spread quickly in Russia. Wives and mothers wailed as their loved ones were forced to go to war, and thousands of Russians fled to neighboring countries to avoid the draft. The backup at the Russian border seemed endless. It turns out many of them were headed to America. In fact, the number of Russians encountered at the U.S. southern border has nearly tripled since Putin imposed the draft. From about 1,600 Russians in August 2022, the month before the draft, to more than 4,500 in January 2023.

MANZURIN: So this is Russia. This is the bus station.

FLORES: Fearing Mikhail could be drafted at any moment, the Manzurins separated.

NAILIA MANZURIN, RUSSIAN RESIDENT (through translation): Praise God, it was just temporary.

FLORES: Mikhail left Russia first to Kazakhstan by bus. A week later.

MANZURIN: And here is Nailia in the bus.

FLORES: Nailia and the boys joined him.

MANZURIN: My favorite moment. Mark was so happy to see me. He was crying.

FLORES: And they traveled by train to Uzbekistan.

MANZURIN: This is Uzbekistan Chirchik.

FLORES: Where they slept on the floor of an apartment they shared with friends for more than a month. But they were nervous because Uzbekistan is a post-Soviet country that can be friendly to Russia. Then they learned some of their Russian friends were entering the U.S.

MANZURIN: They crossed the border from Mexico to the United States. It happened to one family, then to another family, and we started to pray.

FLORES: In late November, with guidance from a U.S. nonprofit organization, the Manzurins arrived to Reynosa, Mexico --

MANZURIN: This is the video of our apartment.

FLORES: -- which is across the border from South Texas. There, Mikhail says up to 700 Russians were waiting for their own chance to enter the U.S. legally.

MANZURIN: All the people that were there, they were against the war. That was the reason why they left Russia.

This is the day when we crossed the border.

FLORES: In January, after 40 days of waiting there, the Manzurins say U.S. immigration authorities allowed them to enter the U.S. legally under something called humanitarian parole, which allows them to seek asylum while in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gracious God, we thank you.

FLORES: Their first weeks in America, they were hosted by pastors like this family in Austin, Texas, where Nailia celebrated her 27th birthday, and the entire family celebrated being free and safe together.

The Manzurins are in Washington state. They are settling into a Russian speaking Christian community, and they say that they plan to seek asylum. But for now, their future in the United States is still uncertain. As you know, it will be up to an immigration judge to determine whether asylum is granted or denied. And right now, they say that their biggest fear is that they could still be deported back to Russia.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Houston.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: And this quick programming note, be sure to join Clarissa Ward as she takes an in-depth look at Ukraine one year after the war began. Watch the CNN special report, "The Will to Win, Ukraine at War," tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. eastern.

It is the largest democratic exercise on the entire African continent. We'll take you live to Nigeria as they pick a new president.

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WHITFIELD: It is the largest democracy in Africa, Nigeria, and the polls are now closed and the count is underway after widespread delays and isolated violence in a crucial presidential election. Three frontrunners are competing to be the country's next leader. Security has been tight where ballots were cast with armed guards keeping a close eye on voting machines and polling locations. CNN's Larry Madowo is live for us in Lagos, Nigeria. So Larry, what is the situation now?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, Fred, what we're seeing in counting at locations all across Nigeria. There's about 140,000 polling units like the one I'm at. And the process of counting is actually a slow, painstaking one, because every single person in attendance has to agree that this person checked this box and they meant to vote for this candidate or this party.

So what's happening right now, I want to show you. Where you see a poll official holding up the ballot and deciding one by one, no vote cast, a no vote for this individual. And that's happening around the nation. So even though polls closed about six hours ago, this might go into the night, probably into tomorrow in places where voting started a little late.

But Nigeria is a logistical nightmare. This is a superlative election for a superlative, 93 million registered voters, that's more than the rest of West Africa combined, 14 different countries, and 18 men are running for president. Only three realistically have a chance of winning. And they'll have challenges to deal with. The top one is insecurity. That's the one at the top of everybody's mind, political corruption, unemployment.

And more recently, there's been two major crises. One, a cash shortage, a de-amortization of some older Nigerian Naira notes. And secondly, a fuel shortage that left some chaotic scenes outside gas stations. Those are the two things that will be on the top of mind for people who voted today. Nigeria is Africa's largest economy as well, so what happens here has a knock-on effect around the continent and the region.

[14:55:02]

West Africa used to be called Africa's coup belt. So Nigeria embraced democracy back in 1999. There's been a few coups in West Africa, so here, again, a major indicator for the rest of the continent, the rest of the region about having a democratic election. So it's going to be a long night for these guys here, Fred, as they count votes one by one, and some are contested, and go through that process until everybody is satisfied and every vote counts.

WHITFIELD: All right, we're hoping that you're going to keep us informed. Larry Madowo, thank you so much, in Lagos.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Smerconish starts right after a short break.

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