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Trump To Headline Last Day Of CPAC As South Carolina Underway; CPAC Attendees To Hold Straw Poll On Favorites For Trump Vice President Pick; Captured But Undeterred: One Soldier's Fight For Ukraine; DA Willis Rejects Trump Team Claims Regarding Cell Phone Data; Alabama's AG: "No Intention" To Prosecute IVF Families, Clinics; Netanyahu Unveils Plan For Future Of Gaza Post-Hamas. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired February 24, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN HOST: You can watch the rest of my interview with Alexei Ratmansky at Amanpour.com.

For the past two years, America and the West have promised to support Ukraine so that Putin did not win this critical battle for democracy and freedom. Today, though, I'm hearing more and more of this sober talk. That is no good voicing support for democracy, unless you are going to keep providing the weapons to actually defend it.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in Kyiv. Thank you for watching. And I'll see you again next week.

[12:00:40]

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

And we're watching several developing stories at this hour. Polls are now open in the critical South Carolina Republican primary. Voters there are deciding between former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as the next GOP presidential nominee.

It's an election being closely monitored around the world, especially in Ukraine. Today, that nation is marking two years since Russia's invasion.

Leaders from several western countries are in Kyiv to reinforce their support as fears grow that crucial U.S. military funding will come to late. And new developments in Russia where a spokesperson for late Putin opposition leader Alexei Navalny says his body has been turned over to his mother, more than a week after he was found dead in a Russian prison.

All right, let's begin in this country with a GOP presidential showdown underway right now in South Carolina.

Voters are heading to the polls in the Palmetto State today for the high stake's primary between former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who is fighting against the odds for a win in her home state. She vows to continue her campaign regardless of tonight's outcome, while Trump is looking for a decisive victory.

We have team coverage of today's election. Kylie Atwood is at a polling site where Nikki Haley just voted.

But let's begin with Alayna Treene, who was also at a polling site but in Mount Pleasant. Kylie in Kiawah Island. So, Alayna, to you first, what kind of voter turnout Are you seeing there?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CONGRESSIONAL AND PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS REPORTER: Well, Fred, we are here in Mount Pleasant at Jennie Moore Elementary School. And as you can see, the line here is pretty long. And there is a lot of people at this polling location. A lot of voters eager to have their voices heard today.

And it is a huge day. I mean, this is the state where the former president's campaign is expected or are expecting to deliver the final blow to Nikki Haley and her campaign. And it's also a place where it's Nikki Haley's home state, and she wants to have, you know, a good showing here.

She -- I think her campaign as we've heard from our coverage with her campaign that they are not expecting to win necessarily today, but they do want to get closer than they did in New Hampshire, where she trailed Donald Trump by 11 points.

I just want to point out something interesting. I heard from some voters today, Fred, as we were grabbing them as they exited the polling location. One voter, her name was Kelly, she is a Democrat. She said that she came out and voted for Nikki Haley, after Haley had sent a series of fundraising text messages to her and also encouraged Democrats to get out and vote for her today. And I think that's really interesting for the dynamics of this race, because here in South Carolina, it is an open primary. And that means Democrats and Republicans and independents, all of them can come and vote today.

And so, it will be interesting to see whether or not that will help her get more support.

Now, for Donald Trump's part, they are very confident that he is going to win today, the latest polls show that he is up by 30 points over Nikki Haley. But I can tell you from my conversations with Trump advisors that behind the scenes, the former president is very frustrated that Nikki Haley has refused to drop out thus far.

He's really eager to begin a general election pivot to November and begin attacking Joe Biden, and they see Nikki Haley as standing in the way of that. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Alayna. That's a pretty good turnout there. I used to work just down the street there at the local affiliate, WCIV. So, I know Mount Pleasant pretty well. But it looks like people were incredibly enthusiastic about today's primary.

We'll check back with you Alayna, as you get a chance to talk to some of those folks out there.

And whilst we get to Kylie Atwood, soon at a polling station, or near the polling station, where Nikki Haley just cast her ballot.

All right, for more now on this race in the Palmetto State, let's bring in senior politics reporter for The Post and Courier, Caitlin Byrd. Caitlyn, great to see you.

So, it is primary day. You saw on those pictures in Mount Pleasant. I mean, that's a very impressive turnout, the long lines of folks who are there. So, what are you hearing from folks about turnout overall? Is that an anomaly what we just saw or is that pretty typical.

[12:05:03]

CAITLIN BYRD, SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER, THE POST AND COURIER: I'd say it's fairly typical. You also have to take into account, it is a really beautiful day here in the low country and across South Carolina. There's only a slight chance of showers later today, which bodes well. Right?

There has been excitement that's been creeping up. And it's visible in places like Mount Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston, where we've been seeing over the last couple of weeks, you know, they're popping out of the ground like spring flowers, those campaign signs of Donald Trump and Nikki Haley.

I'd go down the road one day, and I'd see a slew of Nikki Haley signs. And by the time I was driving home, there were an equal number of Donald Trump signs put in front of her signs.

So, the side warfare is going on. The kind of usual cadence of things is happening. But there is an excitement here that I'm hearing on the ground.

When I went to Nikki Haley's rally last night, I spoke with a woman who told me she was excited to have a choice that she didn't feel like she's had one in past elections, including in 2020, and including in 2016. So, she says she wants Nikki to keep going and she is going to be casting her ballot for her today.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, you were at that rally last night of Nikki Haley. And then, we also saw some pictures, we'll see them again a little later of her chatting with people at Kiawah Island before she cast her ballot.

Also, last night, Donald Trump was in your state, and he was speaking in an attempt to boast the black people identify with him because of his mug shot and indictments. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I got indicted for nothing, for something that is nothing. They were doing it because it's election interference. And then, I got indicted a second time, and a third time, and a fourth time. And a lot of people said that that's why the black people like because

they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. And they actually viewed me as I'm being discriminated against.

My -- the mug shot, we've all seen the mug shot. And, you know who embraced it more than anybody else? The black population. It's incredible. You see black people walking around with my mug shot, you know, they do shirts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Caitlin, is he just talking to the room of about 500 Republicans at the Black Conservative Federation's annual awards in Columbia, or are you finding that is resonating, and it's a resonating message throughout South Carolina, especially among black voters?

BYRD: I'm not sure I would extend it all the way out to black voters at large. I think it's dangerous to paint with that broad of a brushstroke, when we're talking about voters, who show up to poll for very individualized reasons.

But I will tell you that I -- when I went to his rally in Conway earlier this month, there were a lot of T shirts with Donald Trump's mugshot on them along with some very colorful language about Joe Biden and other forms of apparel that people showed up. And yes, some of those individuals were people of color.

So, I think it is, in many ways more of an extension of the way that Donald Trump has been talking about himself of at the same time, that he is talking about himself and positioning as something of a strongman candidate. He'll also in the same breath, look to paint himself as something of a victim and that he is the only person standing in the way of indictments coming to normal everyday people, which we know that transitive property doesn't add up.

But it's a case that he's making again and again, and the crowds overwhelmingly respond with applause, who see him as something of a political martyr for the Republican Party.

WHITFIELD: And Caitlin, Haley is a native daughter of South Carolina. She was that state's governor for six years, yet she seems to be facing an uphill climb if you, you know, see and reference various polling.

So, is it a reflection of her leadership in that state, politics among Republicans? Or perhaps, you know, it's because there's an evolved electorate over the years? Can you put your finger on it?

BYRD: I mean, Nikki Haley has always been a fighter, someone who is always said she doesn't want to give up. She doesn't want to stop running this race. Even though from all indications, she is showing that she's not expecting a win out of South Carolina tonight. But that doesn't mean she is going to stop fighting.

They point out -- they being Haley's campaign, you know, they point to her latest fundraising numbers, which showed her out raising Donald Trump in the last month. And that's something that they see as something of a glimmer of hope that says, hey, our message does have a home.

This may not be the traditional coalition that we've seen Republican presidential candidates build, but they are arguing and making the case that, that general election voter doesn't want Donald Trump, doesn't want Joe Biden, and she's trying to emerge as that candidate who people could unite and unify behind. But that is a very difficult message to be making right now in a Republican Party base that isn't interested in unifying behind anyone else except Donald Trump right now.

WHITFIELD: I mean, Caitlyn, you make reference to numbers. I mean, Haley and her allies have spent a whopping $16 million ahead of today's primary, far outpacing Trump's 1.3 million.

[12:10:07]

You know the state doesn't vote as a monolith. But what portions of the state's electorate do you believe that kind of campaigning might be making the biggest impact? There visits, the ads, all of that?

BYRD: Yes. Well, I think, pointing out that ad dollar is really important. Because it shows that she is trying to get that message across the state, even at the same time that she has been crisscrossing it herself on a navy-blue campaign bus.

But in terms of that electorate, that's a great question, because I'm sitting here in Charleston. This is the first congressional district by and large, there are pieces of it that are also in the sixth, which is currently represented by Jim Clyburn. The first is represented by Nancy Mace.

Why does that matter? Nikki Haley endorsed Nancy Maze in her 2022 reelection bid on that GOP primary.

Donald Trump endorsed Katie Arrington in that contest. What happens next? Nancy Mace won the first congressional district handily in that GOP primary. But fast forward to where we are today, Nancy Mace has endorsed Donald Trump.

So, whether Nikki Haley's message plays -- pays off here in the first, it's going to be really interesting, because this is a place that's home to many suburban women, who are definitely a core constituency of Nikki Haley, and has been turned off greatly by Donald Trump.

So, I'm really taking a look at the first, also want to see how she does in the sixth, which is heavily Democratic. And you know, I think that, you know, the more socially conservative upstate is going to be really inhospitable territory for her at this point.

But, you know, it's worth to see which pockets if any, Nikki Haley can turn out for her.

WHITFIELD: Yes. One has to wonder, is it just politics or is there a pattern? Because we also saw just as you just exemplified with Mace, but Senator Tim Scott, you know, who got that seat because of Nikki Haley. He is throwing his support behind Donald Trump.

All right, Caitlin Byrd, good to see you. Thank you so much.

BYRD: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Join CNN for live results and analysis of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary tonight. 6:00 p.m., right here on CNN.

All right. Donald Trump will return to South Carolina later on today to address his supporters after the primary votes are counted tonight. But in the next hour, he is scheduled to speak at the CPAC conference in Maryland, the annual gathering of influential conservatives has turned into a pro-Trump festival of sorts in recent years. This afternoon, attendees will vote on their favorites to join Trump as his vice president in the conference's straw poll.

CNN's Steve Contorno is at the conference for us. So, Steve, what do we expecting to hear? And from whom are we expecting to hear the messages?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, Fred, the former president may still be involved in this GOP presidential primary. And, in fact, there's voting going on today, as we just heard in South Carolina. But inside CPAC, we are expecting the former president to look ahead to the general election and really contrast his record with President Joe Biden.

And certainly, inside CPAC he is already considered the nominee by many of the people attending here. And many of the people who are addressing this audience, you know, this used to be an event where Republicans and conservatives from across the party would comment and tester GOP and conservative bonafides. Who used to see pass Republicans, current contenders future Republicans really getting their chance in the spotlight. But now this is solely about Donald Trump. And he is going to address an audience here later today that is totally behind him.

And, in fact, as you mentioned, this event is also being used to sort of create a palace intrigue around who his vice-presidential nominee might be. And we have seen a number of people who are in contention for that role, speak to this audience in varying degrees. Testing how they would defend Donald Trump and how and then their loyalty to President.

We saw Representative Stefanik, Representative Donalds, former Representative Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat who is in the mix and being considered. Dr. Ben Carson who, of course, served in the administration of Donald Trump. Vivek Ramaswamy, he is the only former 2024 contender to speak here, and he has, of course, endorsed the former president.

And then, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has spoken as well. So, you're getting a taste of how this party is coalescing around Donald Trump, even though we are still in the middle of this GOP primary, Fred. WHITFIELD: All right. Steve Contorno, we'll check back with you. Thanks so much.

All right. Still ahead, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, marking a grim milestone, two years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

[12:14:47]

His message to the world this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

730 days of pain, but 730 days of hope. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is marking two years of Russia's invasion insisting their defiant nation will succeed. Quoting him, his speech comes as Ukraine was hit by a wave of Russian strikes overnight, while a major Russian metal plant was targeted in an overnight drone strike, causing a fire to break out.

Ukrainian Security Services claimed credit for the attack. CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is in Ukraine. Nick, you spoke with a Ukrainian fighter who has a remarkable story. What more can you tell us?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, it's stunning to talk to somebody who is life really over the past two years has sort of spanned nearly every major event in this war.

And also, to remind you, too, that this familiar Ukrainian started 10 years ago.

[12:20:00]

Yes, two years ago, the full-scale Russian invasion happened. And I think also remember, while for your home looking at this war, maybe a periodic episodic thing. It may come into our attention intermittently.

For Ukrainians, this is 24/7. So, for the last two nights in a row Odesa has been under drone attack. And that's consistent, nearly every single week something happens there.

And so, that's essentially it fashion, the consciousness of so many here in this country struggling day to day which for them, is a fight for survival and for the freedom of their family.

Here is the story of Oleksandr, who's had quite an extraordinary fight over the past two years.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice over): If one man's story spanned, all two years of Ukraine's war, you might expect it had ended abruptly by now. But Oleksandr is alive. A glass eye from the siege of Azovstal, gratitude from surviving Russian prisons, courage from battling in the summer counter offensive, and now exhaustion from fighting in Kherson in a daring advance across the river. The Russia claimed it ended this week.

Two years ago, you remember shock, but Russia's brutal attack but also Ukraine's bold defense.

OLEKSANDR, 36TH MARINE BRIGADE (text): I personally didn't believe it but I imagined something could happen. But we underestimated our strength as if someone was deliberately putting a stick in our wheels. But our guys were ready. Those were some of the strongest men I know and have known.

WALSH (voice-over): Serving already four years around Mariupol, had a friend move his family to Denmark. And slowly his unit fell back to the Azovstal plant unaware of the iconic battle it would become.

WALSH: What was the worst part of Azovstal?

OLEKSANDR (text): When you look at your friends, your boys who are wounded, you want to help them but you can't. This is the worst. We had no medicine. The boys were just rotting.

WALSH: Is there a flashback that is most vivid to you?

OLEKSANDR (text): There are many flashbacks, but mostly, I think, only about my guys. Those that I lost and those that are alive but now in captivity.

WALSH (voice-over): 400 colleagues died, 45 taken prisoner, he said, surrender the worst feeling.

OLEKSANDR (text): Panic. I mean it wasn't really panic. It was a bad feeling, a feeling of powerlessness especially when they take away your weapon. It's like you're standing naked. It was like Russian roulette. No one there was sure of anything.

WALSH (voice-over): Six months in prison, the Russian anthem daily porridge boiled cabbage, friends dying and threats of being hung or shot. They ended abruptly.

OLEKSANDR (text): We didn't know that we were being released. They put us on buses and took us somewhere else. Our eyes were duct taped. No one saw anything. They just took us out, and that's it, you are in Ukraine.

WALSH (voice-over): He rested and returned to fight in the bitter and bloody southern counter offensive near (INAUDIBLE). He said he was grateful to feel fear again.

WALSH: Have your experience has left you feeling more courageous or more fearful on the front line?

OLEKSANDR (text): I'm not an iron man, I get scared too. It's good to have fear in you. You just need to master your fear. If you don't control it, it will swallow you up. You won't be human anymore. I don't pity the recruits. Pity is a bad quality. You just have to do your job.

WALSH (voice-over): We talk in Kherson and his break from assaulting Russian positions across the river, a risky advance Ukraine hoped would edge towards occupied Crimea. It hasn't. Many lives have been lost, and the city of Kherson liberated now for 15 months is also an exhausted ghost. And while Western support has slowed, Russia is not.

OLEKSANDR (text): This is a difficult freedom. I don't argue. But I don't want to lost it. They were well zombified the Russians. They simply win in numbers. It will be difficult but we will try.

WALSH (voice-over): No end is in sight. He says he does, of course not want his son to fight in this war. He is 7.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: That's been a stunning roller coaster, frankly, for ordinary Ukrainians. And one that they've just not been able to get off their original resilience holding back the third largest army in the world. And then, the remarkable success in 2022, kicking them out of large amounts of territory they'd occupied, then the failure of the counter offensive.

[12:25:07]

And ultimately now, the moment frankly most believe Putin has been waiting for.

That moment where Western resolve and a despite the extraordinary speeches and pledges we've heard in Kyiv today from many Western European leaders coming over that essentially, it's that U.S. aid that appears roping now, it may never come, and that's the moment Putin has been waiting for.

Infinitely patient, infinitely tolerable of pain, and potentially now seeing an opening in -- as this war heads into its third year.

Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Powerful stuff. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much in Ukraine.

All right, coming up. 12,000 texts and phone calls? Donald Trump's team says they tell a narrative different from the recent testimony of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis regarding her relationship with her top prosecutor.

Important or irrelevant? We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:06]

WHITFIELD: Just moments ago, GOP presidential candidate, Nikki Haley, cast her ballot in the South Carolina presidential primary in her home state. She is vowing to stay in the race and even if she loses today's vote in South Carolina. And she's also blasting the former president for his comments that black Americans support him, Trump, because of his indictments and mug shots. She says that type of rhetoric is why he can't win in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's disgusting, but that's what happens when he goes off the teleprompter. That's the chaos that comes with Donald Trump. That's the offensiveness it's going to happen every day between now and the general election, which is why I continue to say Donald Trump cannot win a general election. He won't. We can make him the primary nominee if we want to but we, Republicans, will lose come November. This is a huge warning sign. We have to stop with the chaos. We have to stop with the drama. We have to stop with a bad soundbites that keeps happening over and over again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Trump's comments came last night in Columbia, South Carolina, in front of a group of black conservatives. So CNN's special coverage on the South Carolina primary starts at 4:00 p.m. Eastern today.

Attorneys for former President Donald Trump want the cell phone records for lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade, admitted as evidence in the Georgia election interference case. The records suggest the timeframe for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Wade's relationship was earlier than they both testified last week.

According to a private investigator for the Trump team, there are 12,000 text messages and calls between Wade and Willis over an 11 month period. But attorneys for Willis say the records, quote, do not prove anything relevant. I'd like to bring in now CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson to discuss all this. Great to see you Joey. So is this relevant or a distraction?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, it certainly depends who you ask, Fredricka, right? I mean, but at the end of the day and analyzing and looking at this, this is a very entertaining distraction and deflection. When I look at a case, I look at a case and challenging a case as a defense attorney. And to be clear, I think the prosecutor gave them this issue, both the special prosecutor Mr. Wade as well as Fani Willis as we look at there. And obviously any good defense attorney is going to capitalize on an issue.

But this case is about what if anything happened regarding the President and the 18 other defendants. Well, now, pared down, four pled guilty, three of which were attorneys for the Trump campaign, whether there was any wrongdoing, and it's about the process and fairness in the process. And just the minute, Fredricka, let's talk about that.

There's a grand jury that gets convened of citizens of Georgia and that grand jury doesn't decide guilt or innocence. They decide whether there's reasonable cause to believe that crimes were committed, and defendants committed them. They had that process. Moving forward, right, in the event, the case proceeds, there'll be a trial jury, a trial jury will make a determination based upon guilt or lack thereof, beyond the reasonable doubt all having to be unanimous. And so that's the case.

This is a side show, and certainly the judge had to entertain it with an evidentiary hearing. The question for me is irrespective of cruises, and whether she likes Australia, and does she keep money in the house or not. And what did her father tell her and when they met, is the President and anybody else getting a fair trial pursuant to the processes, and whether this at all would impair that?

And so that's I think, where the focus needs to be, and not so much on these text messages and the dalliances if any. But listen, that's my perspective, certainly the judge has to have a proceeding in court. And we'll see what that proceeding unveils when they go back on Friday, Fredricka, March 1st, for the continued proceedings.

WHITFIELD: Right. And so the judge will also make that determination, try to make the determination, as you say about admissibility of this kind of cell phone record stuff. And the questions have to be answered, right, about how was that cellphone data retrieved. And the judge would have to reopen evidentiary hearing, right, to even allow this testimony. And the judges already kind of set a date of final arguments to be March 1. So is there a time for all of this?

JACKSON: Yes, I think there will be time. And if there's not time now, Fredricka, there'll be time that are made. And so as it relates to reopening a hearing, that's certainly possible. What would that look like? It would look like now that we have information that seems to contradict what Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor, when Fani Willis, the prosecutor, said regarding the nature of their relationship, should it be reopened?

Was the cell phone communications obtained legally? Was there an underlying warrant? Does there needs to be a warrant? Assuming that's true, what do these communications mean? Do the communications contradict the relationship predicated upon them showing that is these communications with the cell phone data then being in the same location at the same time?

[12:35:09]

The location it doesn't pinpoint specifically, Fredricka, where they were. It only indicates they were in the same place. Where they in the same place, did they lie about their relationship? What does this mean to the underlying case? So, yes, the judge can reopen the hearing on March 1st and get further information with respect that really what the information from the data would reflect.

WHITFIELD: OK. But still, what the judge is charged with trying to determine whether there were some alleged financial gain that the district attorney had from this relationship really less about, I guess, the embodiment of their relationship, right? And what kind of communications they did or didn't have. It's really about financial gain. JACKSON: So it is. But the two remember, Fredricka, are interrelated, right? Did we have this relationship? Was the relationship predicated upon creating, right, a source of finance and revenue for potentially your boyfriend? And would that then get kicked back to use such that you would benefit? In the event there is that financial conflict, does it impair your ability to proceed with the case?

If it does, should you be removed from the case? Should the indictment be dismissed, predicated upon all of that? And at the end of the day, that's what it's about. Yes, the financial relationship and any benefit. But in order to assess the benefit, you have to assess the relationship. And that's how this becomes relevant. But I think big picture we have to focus on, did this taint the case? Did this taint the indictment? Did it change any fact with respect to the 98 pages that we read when the indictment was unveiled as to Mr. Trump and any of the core defendants? Does it not get them a fair trial if there was this relationship? And I think that's what the nature on the focus has to be on now and really moving forward.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much for all that. Joey Jackson, great to see you. Appreciate it.

JACKSON: Always.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:41:12]

WHITFIELD: Alabama's top prosecutor says he has no intention of going after IVF families and clinics after the state Supreme Court ruled last week that frozen embryos are considered children and that anyone that disposes of them would be held liable for wrongful death. CNN correspondent Isabel Rosales has more on the controversial ruling.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alabama's top prosecutor has no intention of going after IVF patients or clinics after a first of its kind decision from the state Supreme Court. The court ruling that frozen embryos are children and anyone who disposes of them can be held liable for wrongful death, drawing fierce backlash from fertility experts.

DR. ANDREW HARPER, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, HUNTSVILLE REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE: It's not fair to our patients. Again, they're her embryos.

ROSALES (voice-over): Meanwhile, state lawmakers in a scramble to protect IVF treatments. In response to the ruling, House Democrats on Thursday introduced a bill that would exclude any human embryo outside the uterus from being considered an unborn child or human being under state law. Republicans expected to file in the Senate according to a source.

Meanwhile, the Alabama fertility industry is in a holding pattern as a question how IVF can continue undisrupted in the wake of this ruling. Dr. Andrew Harper moving forward with IVF at his Alabama clinic, but with one major change.

HARPER: We will pause any discarding of embryos, full stop. Now the rest of IVF, she has tubal blockage station. Yes, we'll also continue with IVF. This time next week, you need to ask me again.

ROSALES (voice-over): Experts tell CNN, embryos often don't make it naturally or in a lab. Genetically abnormal fertilized eggs are typically discarded. Others, don't survive the thawing process. CNN was granted access inside one medical clinic still providing IVF.

ROSALES: This is where they keep frozen embryos stored here, preserved, in liquid nitrogen. So according to the Alabama Supreme Court, these embryos are human beings. And destroying an embryo could hold you liable for wrongful death. This has been a big concern for patients and providers. So now patients are in a situation where they may be forced to pay hundreds of dollars every year to store embryos that they know are not going to make it, they know were not buyable. And providers certainly worried about civil liability if an embryo is lost in the process.

ROSALES (voice-over): Dr. Harper in talks with companies who ship embryos out of state for storage.

HARPER: They're her embryos with all rights and responsibilities. And ultimately, their disposition is her decision, not the state, not the practice, not the church.

ROSALES (voice-over): GOP lawmakers quick to distance themselves from the Alabama ruling. Former President Donald Trump calling on the Alabama legislature to find a solution.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious little beautiful baby. I support it. And today, I'm calling on the Alabama legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama.

ROSALES (voice-over): And for those patients left without a clinic, a rush to find alternative care.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES (on camera): I spoke with Gabby Goydel (ph) this week who got that call. And she rushed to get on a plane to go to Texas where she has found a fertility clinic there. And she will continue her care, her IVF journey there going back and forth continuously between Alabama and Texas, something she says will put her into debt. Fred?

[12:45:07]

WHITFIELD: Isabel Rosales, thank you so much.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealing his plans for the future of Gaza. What this means for Palestinians? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled his plan for so called day after Hamas. It would include the, quote, complete demilitarization of the enclave and give Israeli military, quote, operational freedom of action in the entire Gaza Strip and a security zone inside the enclave. Aaron David Miller is a former Middle East negotiator and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, so great to see you. So in your view, who besides Netanyahu would be on board with this?

[12:50:14]

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPT. MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: Very few, maybe the extremists ministers in his right wing coalition. But it's a pretty tough response. So the prime minister leaves themselves some loopholes in terms of maybe providing a rule for the Palestinian Authority. But by and large, I think it's an effort. As Tip O'Neill said, Fred, all politics is local. It's an effort to deflect pressure from the Biden administration, keep the war cabinet on board, Benny Gantz. And also maintain his right wing extremist government by basically asserting opposition to any sort of Palestinian state and Israeli control the West Bank.

WHITFIELD: Yes, the Palestinian Authority has already said, no thanks, to this idea. So that proposed reoccupation is not something the Biden administration is behind. So how is Netanyahu's plan this proposal? How might it further impact relationships -- relations with this White House?

MILLER: Well, I think right now, Fred, the administration is focused on one issue, and it's really not the day after. Its can a the ongoing negotiations in Paris which appear to be making some progress with the Qataris, the Egyptians, the Israelis, and by proxy, Hamas, on a hostage deal. And it appears as if there has been some progress. That deal is supposed to be presented to the Israeli cabinet tonight, and it would involve the release of some 40 Israeli hostages, the elderly, the informant and maybe women in exchange for a 45-day plus. That is where the administration's focus because without that, the Biden administration doesn't have much of a policy toward trying to deescalate in the Israeli-Hamas war. So they need Benjamin Netanyahu, I think it's my point. And the fact is, the President can't afford to go to war within figuratively speaking.

WHITFIELD: Well, I wonder if the timing of Netanyahu's day after plan in any way impacts these on and off again, negotiations, you know, at the core to get these hostages released? And is this such a turn off particularly to, you know, Hamas to hear the reoccupation of Gaza, that it may be less willing to negotiate a release?

MILLER: Yes, it's a fair point. I think those negotiations are being driven by a couple of other factors, which right now are more important than Hamas. Will the Israelis release in a symmetrical trade probably hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, security prisoners, presumably prisoners who have committed acts of violence and killed Israelis? And what is the duration of the extended pause or temporary cessation of hostilities? Those are the key issues in addition to surging humanitarian assistance.

So I think there's -- I think the best chance we've had since November, since that limited exchange to release these hostages. And in fact, we may be on the cusp of some sort of an arrangement and some sort of a deal.

WHITFIELD: As a negotiator yourself, how hopeful do you remain, this is a long time, and unclear the wellbeing of so many of the some 100 hostages that are believed to still be held.

MILLER: I mean I think the urgency is acute. We have 134 hostages according to the Israelis, as many as 30 may have been killed on October 7th, their bodies taken the Gaza by Hamas to trade. And then there are more who have died in captivity. So the longer this goes on, the more concern for the health and wellbeing of these hostages. Again, I think, you know, nobody ever lost money betting against Arab- Israeli peace, Israeli-Palestinian peace. But I think this time around, the pressures on both sides may be sufficient in order to secure this limited deal, 45 hostages in exchange for a six-week pause in military activities on the part of the Israelis.

WHITFIELD: Aaron David Miller, always great to see you. Thanks so much.

MILLER: Thanks for having me, Fred.

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WHITFIELD: Coming up, a somber milestone, two years ago today an unprovoked Russia invaded its neighbor, Ukraine. We'll have reaction from around the world.

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WHITFIELD: Good afternoon. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta alongside my colleague Christiane Amanpour in Ukraine.

We're following two big stories today starting with a major moment on the presidential campaign trail in the U.S. South Carolina Republican voters are hitting the polls to select their next presidential nominee. The stakes are high in the Palmetto State where former Governor Nikki Haley is trying to gain momentum on former President Trump's march to a second term. Christiane?

AMANPOUR: And here in Kyiv, Fredricka, officials are watching that election very closely as the solemn two-year mark is also a turning point. Today the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his country people to remain hopeful in the face of Russian aggression.

But weapons and ammunition are running dangerously low on Ukraine's front lines. The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the situation, quote, extremely serious and vowed more NATO aid.

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