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Zelensky Warns Of Impending Russian Attack, Hopes For U.S. Aid; Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) Is Interviewed About The U.S. Congress And Ukraine Aid; Trump To Focus On General Election, Nikki Haley Not Bowing Out Of The Race; Sen. Schumer Sounds The Alarm On Possible Government Shutdown; State Lawmakers Scramble To Protect IVF After Court Ruling; Negotiators Agree On Outline Of Hostage Deal; U.S. Faces Roller Coaster Weather. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 25, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

RICHARD ZOGLIN, AUTHOR: They had to send him across town to the black area. Well, people like him, you know, raised a stink and obviously things changed fairly quickly in the late 50s and early 60s.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Wow. Also fascinated, and of course we'll learn even more with your series. Richard Zoglin, thank you so much for being with us. CNN looks back at the iconic history of Las Vegas and the live entertainers that set the city on fire. Get ready for Elvis, the Rat Pack, Wayne Newton and more in the new CNN Original Series "Vegas: The Story of Sin City" premiering tonight 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.

Thank you so much for joining me this weekend. This is the last CNN weekend newsroom show right here in this studio in the historic CNN Center building. But we're not going anywhere, we're just going down the street. So, we'll see you next weekend. New venue. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "CNN Newsroom" continues with Jessica Dean right now.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You are in the "CNN Newsroom." Good evening, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington. And we begin tonight with uncertainty hanging over Ukraine as the war-torn country marks two years since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Today, President Zelensky warning Russia could attempt a new offensive that could start by late May.

In a rare admission, the Ukrainian leader revealing at least 31,000 of his soldiers have died in the war. Now, CNN cannot independently verify that number, but U.S. officials estimate the toll could be closer to 70,000. Ukraine is running low on critical supplies like weapons and ammunition as Russian forces gain control of key areas. CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins is in Kyiv and got a chance to ask Zelensky about the $60 billion of aid stalled in Congress. Here's a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: It has been two years now, obviously, since this war started. But for the first time since Russia invaded, U.S. aid to Ukraine is seriously in doubt, it's a total standstill in Congress. Do you still have faith in the U.S. Congress?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): Well, I do have hopes for the Congress. I am sure there will be a positive decision because otherwise it will leave me wondering what kind of world, we are living in. Because of that, we do count on Congress support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Now, Kaitlan also had a chance to speak one-on-one with Zelensky and brings us a preview from Kyiv.

COLLINS: Well, Jessica, you know from covering Capitol Hill, as well as anyone, what the dynamics are there right now. And the truth on the ground is that U.S. aid is at a standstill. The Senate passed that aid package that has $60 billion for Ukraine inside of it, but it has gone nowhere in the House. And Speaker Mike Johnson has said he's in no rush to move it. And of course, they're still on that two-week recess.

But some of the senators who voted against that, Republican senators including J.D. Vance, have been making claims they don't believe, even if it did pass, that it would fundamentally change what's happening on the battlefield for Ukraine, how they are faring against the Russians two years into this war. And we asked President Zelensky for his response to that claim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Senator J.D. Vance, who was in Munich at the security conference but didn't meet with you, he said that even if you got the $60 billion in aid, it is not going to fundamentally change the reality on the battlefield. What's your response to that?

ZELENSKY: I'm not sure that he understands what's going on here. And we don't need any rhetoric from people who are not deeply, you know, in the war. So, to understand it is to come to the front line to see what's going on, to speak with the people, then to go to civilians to understand what will be with them, and then what will be with them without this support. And he will understand that millions of people have been killed, will be killed.

COLLINS: So, he doesn't understand it?

ZELENSKY: Because he doesn't understand it. Of course, God bless you don't have the war on your territory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: So, Jessica, what he said right after that was, he noted that these are the people, people like J.D. Vance and other senators, some of whom of course support sending more aid to Ukraine, they're the ones who are making the decisions here.

But what he also made clear is that while he said, you know, he's grateful that no one else has to understand what this is like, only people in his shoes who have been on the front lines of the battlefields here in Ukraine can really understand what's going on.

[17:05:00]

And it just speaks to the implications of that decision where he's making those comments there saying that this is really what matters and this is what it all comes down to and that it is a very black and white picture for him, that if they don't get any more aid from the United States, it's not like the war is going to go on the same that it has been. He said it will fundamentally change what is happening on the ground and that more people will die as a result of it.

DEAN: All right, Kaitlan Collins for us from Kyiv, Ukraine. Thanks so much. And be sure to tune in tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern for Kaitlan's full sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It's right here on CNN.

For more on the two-year anniversary of Russia's war on Ukraine, let's turn now to my next guest, Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois. He is the co-chair of the House Caucus on Ukraine. Congressman, thanks so much for coming on, on this Sunday night.

I first just want to get your reaction to that interview with my colleague Kaitlan Collins and President Zelensky. Is the Ukrainian leader putting too much faith in Congress to pass this aid, do you think?

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Look, every time I've met President Zelensky, five or six times since the war began, he's been nothing but appreciative and forthcoming about the conflict. But he's absolutely right that our aid is essential. And, you know, I guess you never lose money betting against Congress. But he has to keep hope because his people's existence is dependent upon our acting in good faith.

DEAN: And so just to remind everyone, as we've kind of talked about leading up to our interview with you right now, that aid is stalled in the House and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan putting the blame squarely on the Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson. Let's listen to what he told our Dana Bash this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The reality is that Putin gains every day that Ukraine does not get the resources it needs and Ukraine suffers. And there is a strong bipartisan majority in the House standing ready to pass this bill if it comes to the floor. And that decision rests on the shoulders of one person.

And history is watching whether Speaker Johnson will put that bill on the floor. If he does, it will pass, we'll get Ukraine what it needs for Ukraine to succeed. If he doesn't, then we will not be able to give Ukraine the tools required for it to stand up to Russia. And Putin will be the major beneficiary of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And so, Congressman, I'm curious if you agree, if Speaker Johnson is, essentially, if he doesn't put this on the floor, if he's essentially helping the Kremlin, helping Putin.

QUIGLEY: Well, there's a term we came up with a few years ago, people who are apologists to Putin, who also misled the public with what's going on. We called them useful idiots, none more useful than a presumptive nominee for president United States on the Republican side. I'd ask Speaker Johnson not to be a useful idiot to someone who's such a bloody tyrant.

Do you really want to forget the lessons of the Second World War and why we fought that war and why so many gave their last full measure of devotion? Do we really want to say never again and perhaps not mean it? I stood on the mass graves at Bucha and I saw what Putin is capable and is going to do if we don't do this. It is not that hard.

Speaker Johnson, what are you afraid of? The bill gets on the floor. It'll probably get about 300 votes. It got 70 votes in the Senate. This sort of thing doesn't happen. And indeed, history is watching.

DEAN: And so just to underscore for people listening and watching at home what you just said, which is if this bill were to go to the floor, it's going to have, in your opinion, and that's the conventional wisdom, overwhelming bipartisan support. So, this really, it's not a question of if there are votes there, right?

QUIGLEY: Absolutely. Look, when there was a standalone bill in November, it got about 300 votes, 101 Republicans. I guess there's 100 Reagan Republicans left who supported the Reagan doctrine, but as you know, that's more than enough. So again, he has every opportunity. And frankly, if he doesn't, we have no choice but to try to force the bill on the floor and get some of those hundred Republicans to take a tough stance and sign on to what we call a discharge petition.

DEAN: Right. And those discharge petitions, not to bore everyone, but there is a lot that goes into that. They're very difficult logistically to get through you. It's really a tough needle to thread. But are you confident at this point, if you all had to rely on that, that that is something that could work?

QUIGLEY: You know, they don't work very often, but I think this has historic qualities. And my colleagues on the other side who care about this know that they're going to have to take that. We're not talking about a lot of Republicans, right? Maybe not even double digits that would have to sign on because you'd have virtually every Democrat signing. The margins are so narrow and so much is at stake.

[17:10:00]

You know, I know that for some people, they see these as tough votes. My answer to that is, what in the hell did you come to Congress for? Just to vote for the simple things, the easy things? There's so much at stake here. And I think it's important to remember that not just Putin is watching, but our friends and foes are watching.

Can those who want to count on us count us in the future? And can those who want to challenge us, they're watching this too in Beijing and Tehran, and they're recognizing that perhaps our resolve as the West is only as strong as a handful or just as few as one person who's willing to be that weak link and hurt not just Ukraine, but our own national security.

DEAN: Congressman, do you think that the Biden administration has done a good enough job explaining to Americans what this aid is because there is a sense from a lot of everyday Americans that they think this is just a blank check that is going overseas to another nation when there are real problems at home.

I was talking with Democratic strategist Paul Begala on another one of our shows, and he said that he would reframe it as kind of, no, we're rearming America. We're sending them our old weapons. We're building new weapons in American facilities. Do you think that that message is getting out to everyday Americans to help them understand what this actually is?

QUIGLEY: It is, but it's tough. Every war is tough to win at home, so to speak. I mean, even the Second World War, there were movies, "Why We Fight," reminding the American people why it mattered, and our own blood was being shed and our interest was obviously there. So, it's difficult.

You know, I would remind people that Secretary Austin and General Milley brought this home and said that if we don't stand up to Putin's aggression, we're just asking to our situation where we would have to invite more bloodshed and double our own budget, because again, Putin's aims go well beyond Ukraine until Moldova, Georgia, and then of course in the Baltics and NATO countries to, in his mind, rebuild the Soviet Union.

So, it is extraordinarily short-sighted and not really paying attention to the facts to recognize that conflict is our conflict, and it's again why we formed NATO and the United Nations, and that should bring it home.

DEAN: And of course, NATO has been the subject of so much conversation with the former president, making those comments that he would allow Putin to do whatever the hell he wanted if they didn't pay their fair share. But if he continued, to your point, to move forward like this, it could put some of those NATO countries at risk.

QUIGLEY: Oh, absolutely. And that's one of the frustrating parts. Clearly, it's not Speaker Johnson who's making this decision. He's making it based on orders from candidate Trump. So that's where all of this is coming from. I don't know that Speaker Johnson has the requisite understanding of what's at risk here.

But if we're going to let former President Trump call these shots, let's just remember how close he was to President Putin, how he never, ever criticized him, and wanted us to pull out of NATO, risked that several times, and was the ultimate isolationist, risking us at home and abroad.

DEAN: And before I let you go, just quickly, there are some congressional deadlines just about a week away to fund the government and prevent a government shutdown. You all have come up against this several times and passed some short-term spending bills. What's the status of that? Do you believe that Congress will be able to avoid another partial shutdown?

QUIGLEY: Only if we do a continuing resolution, which is a short-term spending bill, which is absolutely no way to run a country this size. It's extremely risky. It also puts the cost of government, the credit rating, higher.

And again, the rest of the world is watching our dysfunction. Our dysfunction has become a national security threat. Let's just remember, putting aside it's hard to do, putting aside what we're trying to do with this bill, dealing with Ukraine and Israel, we haven't funded our own military yet. We've only got a couple weeks to do that. Let's get the basics done to protect ourselves at home and our allies abroad.

DEAN: Yeah, and just worth noting, we're now being told my colleague, Melanie Zanona, reporting that the spending deal to avoid a government shutdown that they thought might come out today is no longer expected. They've hit some more snags. So, more to come on that. Congressman Mike Quigley of Chicago, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

QUIGLEY: Thank you.

DEAN: Still to come, what senior advisers inside the Trump campaign tell CNN about their strategy going forward after last night's win in South Carolina.

We're also going to unpack Nikki Haley's decision to stay in the race. My next guest says Haley should absolutely continue her fight, and we'll hear why.

Also, how Alabama's IVF embryo ruling is affecting real people, and a lot of them. I'm going to talk to one woman who had to scramble to leave the state midway through her IVF journey.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:19:31]

DEAN: It is only February 25th, but former President Donald Trump is ready to close the book on the presidential primaries and shift his focus to the general election and his presumed rematch with President Joe Biden. CNN's Kristen Holmes has the latest now from the Trump campaign. Kristen?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, I have talked to a number of senior advisers on Trump's team who say it is time to turn their focus to the general election. They have had four resounding wins. Even if Nikki Haley is not dropping out in all the future contests, or at least most of them, Donald Trump is a clear favorite.

[17:20:00]

They need a campaign reset. Now, before I get excoriated by saying there's going to be some kind of Trump presidential pivot, that is not what I'm talking about. I am talking about campaign strategy, campaign infrastructure. They are talking about trying to build out their teams in critical battleground states, like Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, states that Donald Trump won in 2016, but Biden won in 2020. They are also talking about how to really focus their messaging on the president of the United States, Joe Biden.

Now, you saw a little bit of that from Donald Trump last night when in his speech, his victory speech, he didn't mention Nikki Haley once. But the caveat to that is that I spoke to one senior advisor who said they had no idea if he was going to mention Haley or not. They had asked him, they had begged him not to mention Haley to turn this focus to President Joe Biden, but they know that they cannot control Donald Trump.

Now, the other part of this is that we saw that there are clear warning signs for Donald Trump in a general election in 2024. We have seen that throughout the primary and caucus process, particularly in our exit polling and particularly with independent voters. His team is very much aware of that.

And that is part of the reason why they believe they have to start focusing on the general election. They have to start going through their databases for the past several years. They have to start building out those teams. They have to change their messaging because they know that every vote is going to come -- to count come November. And they believe that they can bring Donald Trump back to the White House. But they know it's a long road ahead of them. Jessica?

DEAN: All right. Kristen Holmes for us in South Carolina. Thanks so much. And joining us for more on this story, CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein and Geoff Duncan, the former lieutenant governor of Georgia. Lovely to see both of you.

Ron, let's start with you. The Trump campaign is clearly ready to move on to the general election after just a handful of states. Can they? Is it time for them to do that?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, as long as Haley is running, obviously, they have to pay some attention to the primaries. But I think the concrete has pretty much settled in the Republican primary. What we've seen is a very consistent pattern in the first four states, particularly the big three of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

And what it tells us is that Haley's coalition is not big enough to seriously threaten Trump for the nomination. But her coalition is plenty big enough to cause all sorts of headaches for him in the general election if he can't corral it. And what we've seen is some pretty consistent patterns. He's only won about 40 percent of the vote among independents in each of the first three states.

He's lost college graduates in the last two states, even while winning convincingly. And consistently now in that AP vote cast study, 60 percent or more of Haley voters are saying they won't vote for him in a general election. She's making a stronger case against him by far than she was at any point through New Hampshire.

So, you know, I think she got it about right in her speech last night. Her coalition is not 50 percent. It's not a majority, but it's not nothing either. And as long as she has the money and the money seems to be coming in, she appears to be determined to make this stronger case against Trump that she failed to make in '23 when she had the platform of those debates and even failed to make in Iowa and New Hampshire when she had concentrated on national media attention.

DEAN: And so, Haley pledging to stay in this race at least through Super Tuesday. That's March 5th. That's when 15 states, the U.S. territory of American Samoa will all vote on that one day. Jeff, you've written an op-ed for CNN.com saying Trump may have won South Carolina, but Haley could still come out on top. How?

GEOFF DUNCAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think there's three primary reasons, money, age and reality. At the end of the day, people get out of campaigns because they run out of money. That's not the case with Nikki Haley. She continues to have strong fundraising numbers.

I actually just got an email just a few minutes ago from her campaign that said that she raised a million dollars in 24 hours. The other positive effect of the money is she's not paying millions of dollars with illegal fees to keep herself out of jail like Donald Trump is. And then, of course, the age-related issues, right, between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

I mean, these folks are really up there in years, right? That's being as nice as I can be on a Sunday afternoon. Companies have contingency plans for people their age. And then the reality is, as a Republican, Donald Trump cannot beat Joe Biden. He's literally the only Republican with a heartbeat that cannot beat Joe Biden and wouldn't be 20 points in front of him right now.

And we continue to go through this exercise over and over again as Republicans across the country. And just look to the last few election cycles. Look no further than Hershel Walker here in Georgia. We keep electing primary candidates that can win general elections. And Donald Trump is not immune to that issue.

DEAN: Okay, so getting a little bit under the skin of that, and Ron, you were talking about all the numbers that you were listing. And, look, Trump had a resounding victory last night. There is no question about that. But 40 percent of South Carolina, very conservative Republican voters voting against Trump is not nothing. In New Hampshire, it was about 44 percent --

BROWNSTEIN: Like she said.

DEAN: Yeah -- of Republicans. And Geoff is talking now about the general election.

[17:25:00]

That seems to be when those numbers you get out -- he can get out of a primary, but those numbers, when you have that sort of discontent within the Republican Party against Trump, those might matter in swing states in November.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, absolutely. Look, I mean, there are a lot of ominous numbers for Democrats that they're worried about Biden's approval is stuck around 40 percent. It hasn't been increasing yet, even though economic optimism is growing. And that's a pretty ominous divergence.

But probably the best news for Democrats this spring is the continued evidence of this fracture in the Republican coalition. You know, Donald Trump is the dominant figure in the Republican Party, but he is a quasi-incumbent president. And consistently, we are seeing somewhere around 40 percent of the vote saying no.

And as I mentioned, losing independence, losing college graduates in the last two states and at least 60 percent of Haley voters in the AP VoteCast study in all three states saying they would not vote for him in the general election. Roughly 80 percent of Haley voters in the exit polls conducted by Edison Research for CNN and others say they will not vote for him if he is convicted of a crime.

Not all of those voters in the end will abandon Trump. Many of them will go back to the Republican nominee because they are loyal Republicans and they are really down on Biden's performance. But Biden doesn't need all of them to abandon Trump. This is a closely divided country, and this is a signal to Republicans that they are taking a general election risk by renominating Trump, even though he is the dominant figure in their party, because the evidence is just very consistent from state to state.

By the way, she may not match these numbers in the Super Tuesday state. I mean, she had a lot of time and money to campaign in New Hampshire and South Carolina. It may not be as broad a coalition, but it is a real coalition. It's a consistent coalition and it's consistent with where Trump has had trouble in the past, white collar and suburban voters.

DEAN: And yet, Geoff, we get news that the Senate Minority Whip John Thune, who is in GOP leadership in the Senate, certainly not thought of as a big, you know, Trumpy guy like the people in Congress you think of that immediately you think of Trump. He is endorsing the former president.

What does that say to you that people like John Thune are falling in line behind the former president?

DUNCAN: Well, it's the unfortunate reality of where we are as a country, but I'll specifically speak to his Republicans. We feel the need to kiss the ring and to endorse a flawed candidate. And that's not leadership.

We have got some tough times on our hands. We've got some tough situations that we need real genuine leaders. And, you know, each candidate has problematic populations that they have to work through. Donald Trump just -- he has this crowd of folks that are with him and then this massive crowd of folks that are never going to be with him. And that makes the math problem impossible for Republicans to win.

I think there's going to be a whole lot of regret after Donald Trump gets beat again. And, you know, heaven forbid he wins and Nikki Haley doesn't prevail in this Republican primary. And he comes in and just rearranges the deck chairs again and creates chaos across the party, the country and maybe even the world.

DEAN: All right, Ron Brownstein, Jeff Duncan, we'll leave it there. Our thanks to both of you. We appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: (Inaudible).

DUNCAN: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, Alabama clinics pausing IVF treatments after the state Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos are children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABBY GOIDEL, MOTHER: We never envisioned that this process would be questioned in any way. And then much less by the Supreme Court of Alabama.

DEAN: I speak with Gabby Goidel after she had to leave her state of Alabama to finish her treatment to try and have a baby. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:32:49]

In this case, that government shutdown would affect four agencies that would run out of funding at midnight on Friday. That includes the Department of Transportation, Veterans Affairs, HUD, and the Department of Agriculture.

Now, on Friday, the White House press secretary was asked about these negotiations and what it would mean if House Republicans couldn't reach a spending deal. Take a listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We've always been very clear. House Republicans have a job to do. Their basic duty is to keep the government open. They need to not play politics here. They need to get this done. We've been very clear about that. And it is their job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Now, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer already sounding the alarm today and also telling senators to keep their schedules flexible this week as they try to reach that March 1st deadline. Of course, this is all separate from the ongoing fight for Ukraine aid, that $60 billion in funding that was passed in the Senate and remains stalled in the House. So, pressure from the White House building up on two fronts this week, be it on this spending deal, but also on that Ukraine funding.

DEAN: All right, Priscilla Alvarez for us at the White House this evening. Thanks so much for that update.

Meantime, Alabama lawmakers are scrambling to find a way to protect in vitro fertilization services following the state Supreme Court's ruling that frozen embryos are children. Multiple clinics in that state have paused treatments following that ruling. And while the fallout continues and lawmakers weigh in, it is having a direct and immediate effect on many families.

[17:35:02]

Joining me now is Gabby Goidel, who is undergoing fertility treatment. She was in Alabama doing this before her clinic had to pause those IVF treatments. Gabby, I talked to you earlier this week. I'm really glad to see you back here. At that moment in time, you were about to get on a plane to Texas because you were at the egg retrieval step of this process. Can you update us on how things are going?

GABBY GOIDEL, WAS RECEIVING IVF TREATMENT IN ALABAMA: Yes. So, after my clinic shut down on Thursday, we scrambled and we jumped on a plane to come to see our family in Texas. We were so lucky and blessed to have gotten into a clinic here in Texas. They have worked with us. Our team of doctors have been wonderful and amazing, I offer a great deal of gratitude to them, and we have gotten in here to finish off this procedure.

It has not been the easiest on our family, and we've needed a great deal of support, but I am one of the lucky ones that was able to finish this off.

DEAN: Yeah. Because you were at the point, this whole process to get to the egg retrieval, which is what you're trying to do right now, takes days of shots of very expensive medicine that you're using, and it's all very specific about timing and how your body is responding to those drugs. So, to put any pause in it really puts the whole procedure at risk, right?

GOIDEL: Absolutely. I have to go into doctor's appointments to be monitored every other day. I have shots that I have to take at a very specific time every night. And any delay in taking the medication, any delay in these appointments could disrupt the whole cycle. So, I was taking shots in an airport bathroom because of how sensitive this procedure and how sensitive the time is. So again, it was not easy to hop on a plane, but it was my only option.

DEAN: Right. And all of this because you want to be a mom. You want to have a baby.

GOIDEL: Absolutely. My husband and I desperately wanted to have a family. We've been trying for years, and this to us is our only option.

DEAN: And so, for people who don't know a lot about this process, can you help them understand how this court decision has had such a huge impact on your personal life? Obviously, through your travels and just trying to get to where you are today, it has been a lot, but this has really been a huge part of your life.

GOIDEL: Yes. So, being right in the middle of it, hearing the court decision just days after I started my shots through my husband and I into a state of chaos, we weren't sure what this would mean for our embryos if we were able to create them in Alabama, where we were going to store them. When we heard our clinic was shut down, our initial feeling was just loss. We felt loss for the future potential children that we were trying to have.

I think a lot of people hear that embryos are going to be protected in Alabama, and they rejoice in that. But instead, it means that embryos aren't being created in Alabama. It stopped that completely. It stopped the potential of future -- millions of future babies in Alabama.

DEAN: And the attorney general there in Alabama, Steve Marshall, has said that he has no intention of prosecuting IVF families or providers. But still, these clinics are clearly concerned because they're not sure about the legality of all this. Yours is a prime example that has stopped a lot of what they are doing. What is your message to these lawmakers who are making these decisions?

GOIDEL: My message is for them to protect IVF and that time is of the essence, that every day that you delay this process is another woman that can't finish off her egg retrieval or get implanted or that they have to wait months for cycles to be given the green light.

I mean, I was given the green light the day before the decision happened, and I'm very thankful that I was able to start this procedure because if they had made it a week prior, I would be looking at months, possibly years of delays in starting my IVF journey.

So, my message to them is timing is of the essence, and the quicker that they can pass a law to protect IVF in Alabama and IVF patients, the better.

DEAN: Yeah, time, one of the more precious resources in that process. All right, Gabby Goidel, thank you so much. Our best to you. We appreciate it.

GOIDEL: Thank you, guys.

[17:40:00]

DEAN: Still ahead tonight, what we are learning about the negotiations to bring Israeli hostages home from Gaza and the obstacles that remain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DEAN: Negotiators have agreed on the broad strokes of a deal to release more hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza. That is according to White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

And though a final deal is still days away at the earliest, Sullivan says representatives from Israel, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have come to what he calls an understanding. This morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about talks with Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: If Hamas goes down from its delusional claims and goes down -- and bring them down to Earth, then we'll have the progress that we all want.

[17:45:04]

Hamas started out with just crazy demands.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Uh-hmm.

NETANYAHU: And, you know, it's -- it's too soon to say if they're -- if they've abandoned them. But if they -- they do abandon them and get into what you call the -- the ballpark, they're not even in the city, they're in another planet. But if they come down to a reasonable situation, then yes, we'll have a hostage deal. I hope so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Jeremy Diamond joining us now from Tel Aviv. Jeremy, what do we know about where those talks stand right now?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, it's not clear how close we are to a deal, but it is clear that we are at least moving towards one, it would appear. Whereas earlier in the week, we started -- things really appear to be at a standstill between Israel and Hamas. Both sides very much hardened in their positions.

But now, after Israeli negotiators returned from this key summit in Paris on Friday, they seem to have returned, bringing a guarded sense of optimism. We've heard from both Israeli and American officials indicating that progress is being made in the talks.

Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel's national security advisor, saying that those negotiators who were in those meetings on Friday did not feel like they came back to Israel empty handed and that it would perhaps be possible to move forward towards a deal.

We also heard from Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security advisor, today saying that the negotiators in Paris had reached a -- quote -- "understanding on the contours of a potential deal." And what else that we know is that tomorrow, an Israeli delegation is set to travel to Doha, Qatar to continue those negotiations.

So, there is certainly a sense that progress is being made. There is certainly a sense of momentum. How close that actually brings us to achieving a deal is another question altogether.

But we do know that time is certainly of the essence. We are about two weeks away from the start of Ramadan and Israeli government officials have indicated that if there is not a deal before then, that the Israeli military will move forward with this major ground offensive into that city where we know that there are one and a half million Palestinians currently living there.

And so far, we haven't heard any details about exactly how the Israeli government intends to evacuate them before moving forward with an offensive, something that U.S. officials have been very clear needs to happen if that offensive is to move forward.

What we do know, though, is that the Israeli prime minister, even as he is engaging in these negotiations, even as he is indicating that perhaps a deal could be made, he is preparing for that offensive, reviewing plans drafted by the Israeli military for that civilian evacuation, but also critically for that major military offensive into what he has described as Hamas's last bastion. Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Jeremy Diamond for us in Tel Aviv tonight, our thanks. Tonight, on CNN, could the decades of tension between the U.S. and Iran result in an even greater conflict in the Middle East? Fareed Zakaria investigates why Iran hates America. It's tonight at 8.

But still ahead, a winter warm-up across the country this week. Hundreds of cities will see near record-breaking temperatures. We're tracking that for you ahead in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:52:44]

DEAN: AT&T will reimburse customers after Thursday's massive network outage. Tens of thousands of people weren't able to make calls and text. And in some cities, 911 was temporarily impacted. AT&T says it will issue a $5 credit to -- quote -- "potentially impacted customers," which it says is the average cost of a full day of service. AT&T saying the outage was the result of an internal issue. The Federal Communications Commission is now investigating the incident.

It is still February for a few more days. But get this. More than 345 heat records could potentially be tied or broken this week. Dallas is set to hit 91 degrees tomorrow, potentially breaking a record set back in 1917. Severe weather also expected this week. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is in the CNN Weather Center with more.

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ELISA RAFFA, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR: Our winter list, kind of spring-like winter, continues as we start out the work week. Look at the high temperatures forecasted for Monday. Seventies from Kansas City down to Atlanta, 80s across Oklahoma, even high temperatures climbing into the low 90s across parts of Texas. This is so warm for February that we're looking at more than 345 records getting tied or broken over the next couple of days. That's for daytime highs and overnight lows.

In Dallas, Texas, you could be looking at a high temperature of 91 degrees on Monday, which would break a record set back in 1917 and sits well above average, 30 to 35 degrees above average.

We keep that warm air in place in the Central Plains on Monday. Temperatures 25 to 30 degrees above average. That warm air continues to slide east by Tuesday. Temperatures well above average, even from D.C. up towards Boston.

We do find some colder air coming in behind this by Wednesday. That's behind a front. I mean, look at the drop off in temperatures. St. Louis has highs in the 80s on Tuesday. You drop 40 degrees with highs in the 40s by Wednesday. Oklahoma City, another huge drop off, too, with your highs in the 50s by the middle of the week.

Here's a look at the showers and storms that could come with this front. That heat could fuel a severe threat. We're looking at some damaging winds, a few tornadoes, and large hail possible, mainly Tuesday evening and overnight in that red shaded area over parts of the Midwest. That front then slides east, bringing that rain for much of the East Coast by Wednesday and then exiting on Thursday.

A lot of these rain totals will be locally heavy depending on where some of those stronger storms set up, so we'll have to watch out for that.

[17:55:02]

Notice the whites on the backside of this. That's where we could have some snow showers in the Great Lakes.

DEAN: All right, Elisa Raffa. How about those temperatures? Thanks so much. Still ahead at six, outrage over the murder of a nursing student on the University of Georgia campus. Why the state's governor is slamming President Biden following the young woman's death. We'll be right back.

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DEAN: You are in the "CNN Newsroom." Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington.

[17:59:58]

And tonight, Ukraine's President Zelensky is warning millions could die if America does not approve more funding for the war-torn country. It has been two years now since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

And as Putin's forces take over control of more Ukrainian strongholds, a $60 billion aid package that could help defend Ukraine has been stalled in the House.