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Biden Wins Michigan Primary Amid Protest Vote Over Gaza; Israel, Hamas Caution Against Biden Ceasefire Optimism; Europe, U.S. React To Macron Remarks On Troops To Ukraine; Iranians Gear Up to Vote on Friday Amid Regional Tensions; Biden Wins Michigan Primary; Interview with Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI); Biden, Congressional Leaders Discuss Shutdown, Ukraine; How a Ugandan Tech Provider Helps Agribusinesses Grow; Prince William Pulls Out of Event Due to Personal Matter; Warm Winter in Italy Leaves Ski Resorts with No Snow. Aired 1- 2a ET

Aired February 28, 2024 - 01:00   ET

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

JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: Ahead here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the way we can use our democracy to say, Listen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And the message is clear. Joe Biden has commitment issues in the Democratic primary in Michigan, as the uncommitted vote becomes an anti-war protest vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We remain hopeful, not necessarily optimistic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Rare agreement among Qatar, Israel, and Hamas, the U.S. President is at best overly optimistic of a weakened deal for a government ceasefire and hostage release.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Namely, that there will be no ground troops. No soldiers on Ukrainian soil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And cue the pylons, Sweden, Poland, and the Czech Republic also rebuffed the French president a day after he refused to rule out a troop deployment to Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause. VAUSE: Crossing wins for Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the latest round of voting for their party's presidential nomination with Democratic and Republican primaries Tuesday in the key battleground state of Michigan. But it seems Joe Biden has a commitment problem in Michigan and Donald Trump is underperforming. First to Biden. While the outcome was never in doubt, what was the question was how many would vote uncommitted as a way of protesting us support for Israel's war in Gaza. Right now it's sitting at what about 75,000 votes.

The uncommitted campaign called Listen to Michigan, was driven by Arab American Democrats, a key support group, which helped Biden win the state back in 2020. Before Tuesday's primary listen to Michigan organizers were aiming for 10,000 uncommitted votes. The official final tally won't be known for weeks but appears to be heading for 100,000 people or more, who sent an anti-war message to President Biden, who notably been no mention of them in a statement thanking Michigan voters released just a few hours ago.

For Donald Trump, another win over his last Republican challenger, Nikki Haley. But the numbers behind the win so Trump underperforming with suburban voters and voters with college degrees. And despite yet another loss, Haley told CNN's Dana Bash, she will stay in the race and is looking forward to Super Tuesday, when 16 states and one U.S. territory will hold primaries and caucuses a week from now, the biggest one-day vote before election day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIKKI HALEY, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've only seen a handful of states vote. I mean, look, I have said this before. As much as the media wants to jump ahead, we're taking this one state one day at a time. That's what this is about. America is blessed to be a democracy. Let people vote. Now in the next week, we're going to watch 20 states and territories vote. Let's let that happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: We begin our coverage with statements Jeff Zeleny reporting in from Dearborn, Michigan.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: And President Joe Biden easily winning the Michigan primary on Tuesday but not dispatching with his biggest opposition. And that is a protest vote to his handling of Israel's war in Gaza.

Here in Michigan, which is the heart of the Arab American population center in the U.S. as well as the Muslim American population center here in Dearborn, there was a significant protest vote because of how the President has handled this war. They have been calling for the President to demand a ceasefire that has not happened. So there was an uncommitted movement that reached out over the last three weeks or so that urged Michigan voters to check uncommitted on the ballot.

Now tens of thousands of Michigan voters did just that. Of course, many, many more voted for President Biden, but the question is, with Michigan being such a competitive battleground, given the fact that Donald Trump also won easily on Tuesday night. Where does this go moving forward?

Now, Michigan leaders vowed to take this to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, saying they will take the anti-war movement to the streets. There is no doubt. That is going to be one of the soundtracks of this presidential campaign, the president's handling of Israel's war in Gaza. Michigan, of course, is so critical on the road to the White House. The President can barely spare any votes here. He's already down in the polls.

So the question going out of this, is there a policy change that can win back some of these voters? The voters we talked to said that they were simply doing that registering a protest vote. They're hoping the White House listens. So as this policy evolves as the situation on the ground there evolves this dynamic could certainly change but it is a victory for President Biden, but certainly a sign of complications and vulnerabilities to come. Jeff Zeleny, CNN Dearborn, Michigan.

[01:05:17]

VAUSE: Live now Los Angeles and Michael Genovese, Political Analyst and President of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University. Welcome back, Michael, as always good to see you.

MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you, John.

VAUSE: Okay. So the last report from Michigan as votes are counted down this Democrat primary support for uncommitted is surging without 75,000 votes. President Biden still way ahead in front of there was never in doubt. You're what almost half a million people have voted for President Biden.

But by way of comparison to past Democratic primary support for uncommitted has always hovered around the 20,000 mark. Take a look at these numbers, and look at 2024. Look at that bar graph. So is this protest vote, an indication that Biden has more work to do before November? Or is it the political equivalent of a five-alarm fire? And is there any indication right now of how seriously the President may be taking this warning?

GENOVESE: Well, I wouldn't say five-alarm fire. But I wouldn't say that going into this the Democrats knew they had a lot to prove and they had some people to win over, especially younger voters, who seemed to be a big chunk of the uncommitted and Arab American voters who in Michigan are very important for the outcome of the state in the general election, both of whom have serious problems with the Biden ticket. And so it's hard beyond that to read, and to interpret what that 13% means. Is 13 a lot or is it a little bit?

Obviously that, you know, the President doesn't have many votes to spare. But if you look at the other side, the Republicans have 27%, 28%, Haley votes could be a protest vote against Trump. So you know, it's hard to really sort through this and say anything with great clarity.

VAUSE: Well, you mentioned the Republican side, and it was a big win for Donald Trump, another one over Nikki Haley. She insists she's not dropping out his part of a statement for her cat from her campaign. "Joe Biden is losing about 20% of the Democratic vote today," which was your point, Michael. "Many say it's a sign of his weakness in number. In November, rather, Donald Trump is losing about 35% of the vote. That's a flashing warning sign for Trump in November."

So if we look at the numbers, Donald Trump does seem to be underperforming, with what college-educated voters as well as suburban voters. So this is a big area of concern, though, for the Republicans, right?

GENOVESE: And they especially election recently in New York, where the Democrat one Republican-held seat and the Democrats did very well in the suburban areas that really spoke loud and clear that the Republicans have a lot to do to really try to boost themselves in superb suburban areas, they can't run without those votes. But I think if you look at Donald Trump, there's a lot of support that is passionate and emotional and strong for him. But there's also a lot of voters who are really on the fence and might even Republicans be willing to vote against him, not just the Hayley voters, but voters who say, you know, if there's an indictment conviction, I might change my mind.

So I think you've got to have the least popular candidates in history, certainly in modern history, both with huge problems, both struggling to keep their coalitions together, and we don't know which one's going to be able to do it.

VAUSE: We also the issue of the war in Gaza, which is a motivating factor for many Democrats here. That's why so many voted on commitment. Others are concerned about Biden's age. And the President used an appearance on late-night television to try and flip the narrative by bringing up Donald Trump's age. List to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, USA PRESIDENT: Take a look at the other guy. He's about as old as I am. But he can't remember his wife's name. It's about how old your ideas are. Look. I mean, this is a guy who wants to take his back. He wants to take his back and Roe v. Wade. He wants to take his back on a whole range of issues that are 50, 60 years they've been solid American physicians.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: At this point, is it a good idea for Biden to actually go there at a minimum to sort of run the risk of reminding voters about his age?

GENOVESE: Well, it's the 800-pound gorilla in the room. Everybody knows it's there. But 40 years ago, Ronald Reagan had to confront the age issue. He did it frontally and he did it with humor. So I think Joe Biden has to talk about it. He can't run away from it. He has to demonstrate that he's in command using your -- can get you a long way and that.

VAUSE: We also have Nikki Haley who's staying in. What's her roll down? She's simply waiting as a standby candidate. Is she the potential spoiler in any way?

GENOVESE: I think she's waiting to be the last person standing if Donald Trump crumbles implodes self-destructs. And if a conviction come sometime in the summer before maybe even in the early fall. I don't -- I don't think she obviously she has a mathematical chance, but she doesn't have a political chance of getting the delegates. And so she's just going to try to bide your time. Super Tuesday next week is going to be huge. He can be buried and if she's buried then. I think Donald Trump just walks away with it.

[01:10:04]

VAUSE: Just very quickly how much damage so has she been able to inflict politically on Donald Trump's campaign? You know, by releasing those statements when we just heard from just a short time ago about, you know, the underperformance of Donald Trump, because that is getting a lot of airtime.

GENOVESE: It is a thorn in Trump's side. He takes it very personally, very seriously, especially when leveled against him by a woman. And so I think it really irks Trump. Does it affect other Republican voters? Not the Trump loyalists. The Trump loyalists will see him through anything I think.

VAUSE: It's stuck on him, for better or for worse than everything else in between. Michael Genovese, as always, so thank you. Great to see you. Thank you.

GENOVESE: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: Israel and Hamas appear to be slowly inching closer to a hostage for ceasefire deal in Gaza, while at the same time pushing back on the optimistic outlook from President Biden a day earlier. Wanting an agreement by the end of this week is very unlikely because of unresolved differences currently under discussion. But Qatar, which is mediating these negotiations is hopeful a final agreement can be in place before Ramadan. The Islamic holy month begins March 10 or March 11.

And according to reporting from Reuters and Al Jazeera, Hamas is reviewing a draft proposal for an initial six week ceasefire, during which 40 Israeli hostages would be exchanged for 400 Palestinian prisoners. At the White House, there are hopes this temporary ceasefire could lead to a permanent ceasefire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: What we're hoping to do is to get an extended pause in the fighting. I've just called it a temporary ceasefire myself. That would allow for several weeks, hopefully up to six, where there will be no fighting so that we can get all the hostages out and increase the flow of humanitarian assistance, but just as critically get the fighting stopped, so that there's no more civilian casualties and there's no more damage to civilian infrastructure. (END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: With us now from Providence, Rhode Island is Gershon Baskin, a former hostage negotiator for Israel, as well as a political and social activist. It's good to see you. Welcome back.

GERSHON BASKIN, FORMER HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: Thank you.

VAUSE: He's a little more now from President Biden, on the limited deal over hostages and a ceasefire and how it might work. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIDEN: The hostages being held must be released. And then we've got an ISA principle of agreement. There'll be a ceasefire, while that takes place. Ramadan is coming up. And there's been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engage in activities during Ramadan as well, in order to give us time to get all the hostages out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: It sounds great, but CNN and others are reporting, "Officials from Israel, Hamas, and Qatar, have cautioned against U.S. President Joe Biden's optimism that a hostage for ceasefire deal in Gaza could be reached by the end of this week, suggesting that differences remain as negotiators work to secure an agreement." So assuming three out of the four parties to these negotiations are right. How is it that the U.S. President could get this so wrong?

BASKIN: Well, I think he's trying to make an optimistic spin on a very difficult negotiation. There are real problems and reaching an agreement with Hamas. They're very tough negotiators. They generally say what they mean to me what they say. They are not willing to accept, as it seems a temporary ceasefire and then only to have the fighting renewed. They want to get in this ready commitment that could be the end of the war. And it is ready withdrawal from the territories of the Gaza Strip.

This is what they want primarily and they want the large number of Palestinian prisoners released from prison. This is an interim VO and Hamas is making a very hard bargain.

VAUSE: And right now the Israelis say one of the reasons there seems to be a go slow or a delay in all of this is because they're waiting to hear back from Hamas. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAL HEINRICH, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER'S SPOKESPERSON: You see from Israel's point of view, we are willing, but the question remains whether Hamas are willing. Hamas are making outlandish demands in another orbit and other planets. If Hamas can come back down to reality we'll be able to have a deal.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: And at the same time, Hamas has been forced to wait by Israel

at times as well. Why is it that neither side seems to be moving with any real urgency here?

BASKIN: It's very difficult to understand. I mean, Hamas has been decimated. The Gaza Strip has been destroyed it one and a half million Palestinians in Gaza are pushed into 20% of the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Ramadan is around the corner. They need food. They need medical supplies. They need to regroup and organize.

The Israelis are suffering from army fatigue as well. They've been four and a half, almost five months in the field. Everyone could use a break right now and it's difficult to understand why it's not so urgent. From Nathaniel's point of view, he seems to want to prolong the war, because it will prolong his political career, but I don't understand the Hamas position. They're in a very bad situation unless they're totally detached from the reality that exists above the ground while they're in the tunnels in the bunkers.

[01:15:11]

VAUSE: Earlier this month, in a piece you wrote for Haaretz, you said this. Based on my 17 years of negotiating with them Hamas, the only way of getting all the 136 is ready hostages home is through an agreement with them, Hamas. You got went on to write the walk and wait, the hostages cannot.

This is pretty much directly at odds with what the Israeli prime minister has been telling the Hamas and also free all of the hostages at the same time. Netanyahu who knows the high cost of these hostage rescue operations, his brother was killed during one of them. So does Netenyahu actually believe what he's been saying to the Israeli public?

BASKIN: I think he does. I think that the army believes also the theory they're working on is that they're very close to getting to the Hamas leadership, they will find them underground. They will kill them. They believe that the chain of command will break apart will break down, and that those holding the nerves, the hostages will simply release them. I think this is a huge gamble. Because they might be able to reach them. Maybe they want. If they don't reach them, they're probably surrounded by hostages. There'll be a gun battle, a lot of hospitals will be killed.

The Hamas leadership may be killed as well. There might be a breakdown in the chain of command, but there's no guarantee that the people holding hostages won't execute them. So it is an enormous gamble that they're ticking here. And we really do need a negotiated agreement to free as many hostages as possible. We know that too many of them have been killed already. 134 are still being held. And we believe that more than 50 of them are already dead.

VAUSE: So thanks so much for being with us. Gershon Baskin, former hostage negotiator. Thank you, sir. Appreciate your time.

BASKIN: Thank you. VAUSE: Right now the worst level of child malnutrition anywhere in the

world is in Gaza, according to the World Food Program, which is also warning of a real prospect of famine by May, with half a million people at risk. U.S. Agency for International Development has promised $53 million in new assistance but says bureaucratic bottlenecks and inspection delays must be resolved. And the Red Crosses some families are eating animal feed as well as rushing basic supplies to provide one meal a day for the children.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAMESH RAJASINGHAM, U.N. OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: Here we are at the end of February, with at least 576,000 people in Gaza, one-quarter of the population, one step away from famine, but one in six children under two years of age in northern Gaza, suffering from acute malnutrition and wasting. And practically the entire population cause left rely on woefully inadequate humanitarian food assistance to survive. Unfortunately, as grim as a picture we see today, there is every possibility for further deterioration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And for months now, humanitarian assistance to Gaza has been barely a fraction of pre-war levels. In no small part due to time- consuming Israeli inspections of aid convoys, but no such delays for a second day for aid deliveries from Jordan. Going to Jordan state media 6C130 aircraft plus planes from Egypt, Qatar, and the UAE, and France to go from Amman on Tuesday, airdropping 45 tons of supplies over northern and central Gaza. Well in southern Gaza aid supplies were dropped directly to a field hospital, critically short on pretty much everything.

One of the planes also on Monday missed its target when aid packets were actually dropped into the sea, causing a frenzy of desperate results swimming out and paddling to retrieve whatever they could find.

A diplomatic pile-on by U.S. and European leaders on the French president after he raised the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. At a summit in Paris on Monday and then come across in western troops to Ukraine cannot be ruled out. At the same time he made it clear no agreement had been reached. And NATO official amd several European leaders were quick to say there were no plans. No plans at all. None whatsoever to send in ground troops.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OLAF SCHOIZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (voiceover): We obviously discussed ways how to arrange for the support. And here once again, in a very good debate, it was discussed that what was agreed from the outset among ourselves and with each other also applies to the future, namely that there will be no ground troops, no soldiers on Ukrainian soil sent there by European countries or NATO states.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: Here's the reaction from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAJ. GEN. PAT RYDER, PENTAGON SPOKESPERSON: Well, just to be clear, we have no plans to send us service members to fight in Ukraine. The President has been pretty clear on that and that continues to be our position.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: CNN's Melissa Bell following developments and has more now reporting in from Paris.

[01:20:06]

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There has been plenty of reaction to the word spoken by the French president on Monday night at the end of a conference that was held here in Paris, to talk about Ukraine and the future engagement and cooperation between allies in their supportive keys in its fight against Moscow. Emmanuel Macron, taking things further than any of the allies had before.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: There is no consensus today to officially send support and take responsibility for troops on the ground. But as things develop, nothing should be off the table. We will do everything necessary so that Russia cannot win this war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELL: This suggestion from the Elysee and we've been speaking to these eight sources to specify further what the French president had been speaking of. The idea is that it is now up to individual countries, neither NATO to the European Union, to decide whether or not there should be further engagement along the lines of things like sending in deminers people to help with the maintenance of equipment at people who might be there to help with border control in order to liberate Ukrainian troops. These are explained the Elysee issues for individual countries. The important thing is that that message was strongly sent to Moscow. The idea explained in the Elysee source of strategic ambiguity that it was time to Moscow understood that allies may be willing to go further than they had before, and that it was now time two years into this war for individual allies to consider what more they might do to ensure that Ukraine won. Melissa Bell, CNN Paris.

VAUSE: Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from two villages near the eastern town of Avdiivka, which fell to Russian forces more than a week ago. Ukrainian official says Russians suffered heavy losses during fierce fighting overnight, also suggesting the Russian advanced is not slowing, and there are so groups are growing in size. Despite the withdrawal Ukraine says the defensive line has been stabilized in an area west of Africa, where Russian forces have been pushed back. Bucha Ukraine, many are remembering the lives lost during Russia's

brutal occupation two years ago. (Inaudible) was the scene of alleged Russian war crimes. It was the scene of Russian war crimes and atrocities early the war. CNN Christiane Amanpour visited Bucha on the anniversary of the invasion awarding her report contains graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voiceover): Father Andrii Halavin of St. Andrew's church walks me through Bucha is grisly place in history. Hundreds were brutally killed here during Russia's month-long occupation, including women, children, the elderly.

Andrii Halavin: 99 years old.

AMANPOUR (voiceover): Oh my god, 1923 to 2022, 99 years old and a child of two years old.

HALAVIN (voiceover): These people died not during the fighting but during the occupation says Father Andrii, when the Russian world came here, and this is its face. These are corpses. These are rape people. This is every apartment and house looted. This is the face of the Russian world.

AMANPOUR (voiceover): Father Andrii became known after the Russians were pushed back for revealing the side of a mass grave just here on his church grounds filled with 160 people. He shows me the original posting about it on Facebook, March 12 2022, when Russian forces were still occupying Bucha. And from this memorial, you can see that red house, most of the family was killed as they tried to flee when the Russians turned a heavy machine gun on their car. It still haunts and horrifies the grandmother, Valentina Czechmarova.

VALENTINA CZECHMAROVA (voiceover): It's very hard for me to remember this two years have passed, and it seems like it happened today, she says. I saw them off to get out of this hell, but they didn't. They were shocked.

AMANPOUR (voiceover): This is the fate they were trying to escape the Main Street Yablunska in this residential (inaudible) suburb strewn with bodies all clearly civilians, the discovery of basement torture and execution centers, people forced to kneel and lie with hands tied behind their backs, women and girls raped.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voiceover): How could this happen? How could this happen?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Standing in Yablunska Street today feels a little like standing in a graveyard. It's where the horrors of the Russian invasion were first exposed. And it remains a field of evidence, a memorial and a pilgrimage sites.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (voiceover): We believe that these are war crimes and this all would be recognized as a genocide by the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR (voiceover): President Zelensky came here April 4 2022 Right after his forces drove the Russians out and he brings all his international visitors and work and world leaders to Bucha to remind the world just what they're fighting against. Moscow has claimed without evidence that this was all staged and was a planned media campaign.

Ruslan Kravchenko was the war crimes prosecutor. He's now governor of the Kyiv region.

Do you remember when the Russians said it was fake and the bodies were fake and that the Ukrainians had killed people themselves? He asked me. When we seize the phones, we prove to the whole world that it was the Russians who killed people, Ukrainians.

Ruslan says the war crimes investigations continue using a trove of evidence from multiple cameras phones and other recordings. But when they inform the Russian soldiers, they identify, they don't cooperate. And Father Andrii tells us the awful truth is that bodies are still being discovered today two years on.

From time to time we find someone by accident, he says. The Russians had hidden their bodies somewhere and we find them. So unfortunately, the number of people who died is increasing. Christiane Amanpour, CNN Bucha.

VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, it's Election Day in Iran and with (inaudible) candidates setting for the 285 seats in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, not much is expected to change.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: New sanctions from the U.S. and the UK targeting quote Houthi enablers. UK Foreign officers they've named a number of individuals and organizations for providing financial or military support to the Houthi rebels in Yemen. That list includes the deputy commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. This is the second set of recent sanctions by the UK and the U.S. in response to Houthi's attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. British Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron says the UK and its allies will not hesitate to act on those disrupting the stability of the region.

In Iran, 285 of the 290 seats in the Islamic Consultative Assembly are up for grabs, as well as head to the polling stations Friday to cast their ballots. This election, like almost every other election in Iran comes as the country grapples with international sanctions, economic difficulties, but this time, they're dealing with the fallout from the mass protests triggered by the 2022 cut -- death in custody rather of much of Armani's. CNN Frederik Pleitgen is in Tehran with a preview of what's at stake.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iranian conservatives with a show of force ahead of what many say will be a key election on Friday, supporting their leadership's tough stance against both the U.S. and Israel. His sons, Hassan and Hussein dressed up in military fatigues. Voter Mohamed Kalantari (ph) says he wants to show the U.S.-Iran strength.

[01:29:44]

"They know that Iran is a powder keg", he says, "it only takes a spark to blow up the entire region. Iranian youth, me and the children, are wearing these clothes to say that we are the soldiers of this country."

And this man says, "Through this election, we will prove that we can stand against the U.S. not only economically, but militarily. They are sanctioning us, but this will be solved soon. And then we will be a country sanctioning them."

Tension between the U.S. and Iran has reached a boiling point as Washington accuses Tehran of supporting Houthis in Yemen firing missiles at cargo ships, as well as pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria targeting U.S. bases there, including the January 28 attack killing three U.S. service members and wounding dozens.

Iran denies any involvement but has ripped into the U.S. for Washington support of Israel and its campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

At the conservative event, disdain for Israel on full display. Flags with the Star of David on the floor for people to step on.

It certainly seems pretty clear how most of the people at this rally are going to vote at the upcoming parliamentary elections. But this event is really about something else. It's about getting out the vote. In fact, the supreme leader of this country has urged people to head to the ballot boxes to make sure there will be a high turnout.

It's the first election since massive protests erupted in Iran in late 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini after she was detained for violating hijab laws. On the streets of Tehran, get out the vote posters, nearly everywhere. But with many moderate candidates barred from running inflation high and the economy reeling from tough U.S. led sanctions, some say they feel unenthusiastic when we ask if they will vote.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No, no.

PLEITGEN: "The country belongs to the people," this man says. "There should be participation the elections, but it should be freer with the presence of all groups and minorities."

It's unclear if Iran's leaders could persuade more people to vote in an election deemed pivotal for the country's future.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN -- Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Still to come, the U.S. president, vice president and senior congressional leaders met on Tuesday trying to find a way to avoid yet another potential government shutdown. It's that time a year already. Details on negotiations next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:34:54]

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone.

I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

A Trump-Biden rematch in November is now one step closer. Results from Michigan primaries are in and President Joe Biden will win the democratic contest by a wide margin. About 80 percent at last count.

However, the state is home to a large Muslim-American population and a significant number of voters cast their ballots committed in protest against Biden's support for Israel and the war in Gaza with Hamas.

Donald Trump, far and away the winner in the Republican primary, his fifth win in five contests. His last standing Republican challenger Nikki Haley, vowing to stay in the race for as long as possible. That could be tough after next week's Super Tuesday caucuses and primaries in more than a dozen states.

Joining us this hour is Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, the Democratic representative for Michigan's 6th congressional district, and a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Thank you so much for being with us.

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): It's good to be with you.

VAUSE: OK. So a lot of focus on this protest vote, the uncommitted. Is it best described as what -- a shot across President Biden's bough, a warning that he should change course over his support for Israel in the war with Hamas and he needs to do that before November?

DINGELL: So first of all, I want to say to you, I'm not surprised by what you're watching happen in Michigan. We're a purple state and that means we are going to be a state that were not going to know what's going to happen until election day.

I warn people in 2015 and 2016 that Donald Trump could win the election and nobody believed me. And I was right. And right now, there are a lot of people in both parties -- they're just everyday citizens who have strong feelings on a number of subjects.

The campaign here -- the Americans, the Muslims, they called their campaign "Listen to Michigan". They want elected officials to listen to them and understand how

(INAUDIBLE) their pain is right now. And how many things they're worried about.

VAUSE: So with that in mind, here's your fellow Michigander in Congress Rashida Tlaib speaking Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI): President Biden is risking another Trump term over his support for the most right-wing government, most extremist government in the history of Israel. There's nothing humanitarian about temporary pause and there's death and destruction.

We need a permanent ceasefire. Nothing else is enough.

VAUSE: We'll get to, you know, Donald Trump in a moment. But, you know, if there is to be a reverse course by Joe Biden, what is enough to satisfy Democrat voters in Michigan who are upset by, you know, the U.S. support for Israel?

And this seems to be personal for many because they helped Joe Biden campaign in 2020. And they seem more than disappointed right now.

DINGELL: So you know why it's so personal to people like Rashida Tlaib? Because her grandmother lives there. Because she has had family members that have been killed.

I do case work with her every day of people that have the means and have the visas to escape Gaza with (INAUDIBLE) bridges open tour. This is a very, very complicated subject.

What Hamas did was a terrorist act. But right now, I don't want to -- a Jewish baby and a Palestinian baby are both babies and their children, and they both have a life -- right to live in peace. And that's what we're fighting for.

These are complicated issues that have gone over the centuries. So if we'd been able to solve them, we probably would've done it a long time ago, but I hope there's -- right now, there's nothing good I've seen in any of this.

But maybe just maybe we get a two-state solution. Netanyahu -- I'm sorry -- I don't respect most of what he does or any that he does because he doesn't support a two-state solution. We are seeing innocent civilians die every single day.

But what we all want is both of these countries to be able to live in peace.

VAUSE: You raised this question a short time ago about, you know, if Donald Trump was president when this war broke out, it would be a very different situation right now compared to Joe Biden.

And just as a reminder, here he is on Muslim and Arab Americans over the years. Listen to this (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Unfortunately at this moment in time, there is a Muslim problem in the world.

I think Islam hates us. There's something -- there's something there -- that there's a tremendous hatred there.

We aren't bringing in anyone from Gaza, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, or Libya or anywhere else that threatens our security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Add to that, under president Trump, the U.S. embassy moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

It's hard to imagine Arab Americans or Muslim Americans voting for Donald Trump given his past. Still Michigan's governor did have a warning of what will happen if voters stayed home and don't vote at all. Listen to this.

[01:39:48]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): It's important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote that's not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In a very tight election, is that the major concern that could come from this protest vote.

DINGELL: You know, look, this is February. We're talking about the issues. November is a long way away, but we have a lot of voters to turn out.

This community matters but we also have young people. We need to turn out young people.

It is my district that has had the largest number of uncommitted, which I predicted to people weeks ago would happen. I have two of the largest campuses in this state.

We need to turn out women. Women turned out in record numbers two years ago because they did not believe the government had any business in their personal health decisions.

There's another risk to that. We had a supreme court case in Alabama this past week that stunned people. We also have to get in the union halls and turn out the union workers reminding them that President Biden is the only president in history that walked a picket line with them.

All of these folks are going to matter and it's going to come in November. It's going to come down to who turns out their voters. And people who say they care, who care about the future of our country and democracy can't stay home.

VAUSE: Congresswoman Debbie Dingell there in Ann Arbor, Michigan, thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate your insights and your time. Thank you.

DINGELL: Thank you.

VAUSE: Once again, a partial shutdown of the U.S. government is just days away. Once again, it's being driven by far-right Republicans. The White House is now turning up the pressure for Congress to pass a funding bill, which includes financial assistance for Ukraine.

CNNs Laura Aguirre has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've got to figure out we're going to keep funding the government, which is an important problem.

LAURA AGUIRRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was an optimistic start to a potentially contentious meeting at the White House Tuesday. The president, along with four top leaders of Congress and the vice president, sat down to find solutions on a stalled government spending agreement.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: This Friday, unless both sides act quickly, the federal government will enter a partial shutdown.

AGUIRRE: A partial shutdown that would immediately impact the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, agriculture, and energy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Speaker, is there going to be a government shutdown?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: No. We're going to work to prevent that.

AGUIRRE: That was House Speaker Mike Johnson ahead of the meeting. Confident, despite refusing to bring a recently passed Senate foreign aid bill to the floor of his chamber.

The Senate bill includes aid for Ukraine, a key sticking point for many Republicans.

BIDEN: I think the consequence of inaction every day in Ukraine are dire.

AGUIRRE: Leaders emerged from the White House after the meeting with advances made on key points.

SCHUMER: The meeting on Ukraine was one of the most intense I've ever encountered in my many meetings in the Oval Office the four of us made it so clear how vital this was to the United States.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: We had an open and honest and candid firm discussion about the border. We all agree that we have a broken immigration system.

JOHNSON: We're very optimistic. We believe that we can get to agreement on these issues and prevent a government shutdown.

AGUIRRE: An agreement they had just over three days to reach.

I'm Laura Aguirre reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Once there was lots of snow in central Italy at this time of year. Now, there's a muddy mess -- snow and climate crisis don't mix. Thats affecting the ski resorts in Italy and turn the country's economy and it's not good.

More on that in a moment.

[01:43:25]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Agriculture is a vital sector in the African economy but many businesses face obstacles because they can't get enough funding.

In today's "Africa Insider", we look at a Ugandan financial tech provider who is offering a digital platform for agribusiness to secure financing and track their growth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SSERUBIRI UHURU, CEO, EMAISHA PAY: The agribusiness in Africa is growing. It's projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030. And as the sector grows, the demand for financial services increase.

And so as you might (INAUDIBLE), we see our role as providing that financial infrastructure for any young man, any young woman across Africa to be able to start an agribusiness and succeed.

We have a mobile application that makes it significantly weaker (ph), easier, and cheaper for merchants who want to grow businesses, to serve conveniently, to transact their businesses, to see how much they generated last month, last quarter, last year.

And then they can track their inventory so they can make sense of their businesses. And as that happens, then that puts them in a stronger position to access financing, which can be informed with the loan, but they can also pitch to investors so they can even get financing that's not the date based.

JOSHUA MURIMA, HEAD OF ENGAGEMENT & INVESTOR RELATIONS, BRITER BRIDGES: Data and analytics actually, what we see unlock new products within technological innovations, right? So within the fintech realm, we see it to be the cornerstone of you

know, alternatives forms of credit cards. So it's getting super competitive and founders who are moving within the space have had to be a bit more clever, moving to new products.

UHURU: So far we are working with over 4,000 agrobusinesses our biggest segment currently is the input retailers, because we have decided to enter the market scientifically in a way how the agribusiness chain works.

Start with this, with a starting point. The starting point are the suppliers of raw materials. And those are the input retailer, those are the crop inputs, animal inputs.

So we started with those and decided to focus on those, we decided to build partnerships within the industries that work with them. And then onboarded them.

Our business is to provide solutions that help farmers fight the pests and diseases. EMaisha helps us to link our solution to the farmers through financing the dealers that are able to access now these products from us and be able to present them to farmers.

Our role would be to build (ph) infrastructure role and then be able to build an entire financial ecosystem that empowers agribusinesses across Africa to grow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And we'll be right back after a short break.

You're watching CNN.

[01:48:32]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: According to Kensington Palace, Prince William was unable to attend a memorial service for his godfather, King Constantine of Greece, due to a personal matter. The highest-ranking British royals are under heavy scrutiny, scrutiny right now because of the family's highly-publicized health problems.

Details from Max Foster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Nobody in the palaces would elaborate any further than to say that Prince William pulled out of his godfather's memorial last minute for personal reasons.

He is of course, caring for his wife, the Princess of Wales after her operation. She's still recovering at home. We were told by a source that she is doing well in the context of all of this.

King Charles also failed to go to Constantine's memorial. They were very close, but that of course is because King Charles is being treated for cancer. And he isn't going to public events.

Separately, I was told that Prince William pulling out of the memorial isn't connected to King Charles' illness in any way. So those two things aren't connected, but it does come at a time of heightened concerns.

There's been a series of medical scares within the royal family and people are reading into Prince William's movements more here than they normally would.

The messages that we're really getting from the palace is that there's no major cause of concern because Prince William pulled out of this memorial.

Max Foster, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A disaster declaration has been issued for 60 counties in Texas for at least three massive wildfires that are burning out of control. One of them called the Smokehouse Creek fire has burned more than 100,000 hectares in less than 24 hours, already making it the fifth largest wildfire in the state's history.

It has now jumped state lines to Oklahoma as well. Unseasonably hot, dry conditions and powerful winds are spreading the flames quickly. A number of those communities are under evacuation alerts. Some have lost their homes. Though it's unclear just how many.

And parts of Australia facing catastrophic fire dangers with some of the worst conditions the country has seen in recent years. About 30,000 people were ordered to evacuate parts of Victoria by midday Wednesday.

One bush fire has been burning out of control since Thursday, fueled by hot, dry, and windy conditions, destroying at least six homes. Authorities fear the flames could spread to more populated areas.

This comes more than four years after bush fires ravaged large parts of southeastern Australia, killing 33 people and wiping out critical animal habitats and putting koalas on the endangered list.

Well the climate crisis is causing a meltdown for the economy in central Italy which depends heavily on snowfall. The above-average temperatures this winter has left ski resorts with no snow on the ground.

CNN's Barbie Nadeau explains how that is impacting tourism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These mountains in central Italy used to be a favorite spot for local skiers. Now, the area looks more like a barren, muddy, wasteland.

February is supposed to be the biggest and busiest month here at Campo Felice Ski Resort in the Apennine Mountains in central Italy. Not this year.

As you see behind me, all of these mountains that are brown are supposed to be covered with snow. This year instead, there just hasn't been the snow. The only snow you see here was made with artificial snow machines.

The human-caused climate crisis has resulted in snow loss across the northern hemisphere. Here more than 4,400 feet above sea level where snow is disappearing fast, people are questioning how much longer skiing can go on.

This year, the influence of El Nino means temperatures have been even higher than usual. Normally on a Sunday in February, you'd have 6,000 people skiing on these slopes. This year, only four of the 14th slopes were open.

Of the 250 people who work here normally only 50 have been able to keep their jobs because this season has been so mild and short.

This ski resort has been in Andrea Lallini's family for 23 years. First, his father and now he and his brother Luca run it. He says the seasons have been getting shorter over the years.

He tells us the problem is lack of precipitation plus it has never gotten cold. This year, winter barely even arrived, he says.

They tell us that in the 1980s and 90s, artificial snow wasn't necessary. There was plenty of the natural stuff to go around. This year snow machines were the resort's only option.

But even that is problematic because last summer there was very little rain and lakes like this one ran dry. There was no water to make snow and even fake snow melts if it's too warm.

[01:54:54]

NADEAU: It's a vicious cycle, he says.

Non skiers feel the impact too.

Gennarino di Stefano is the mayor of Rocca di Cambio. He says the town's livelihood revolves around this ski resort and those nearby. The changing climate is having a ripple effect on the economy.

MAYOR GENNARINO DI STEFANO, ROCCA DI CAMBIO (through translator): Every town has a good number of people who come here to work From the ski instructors, the managers, the bars, the restaurants, the people who run the ski lifts. Many people are not working.

NADEAU: And for ski instructors like Isidoro Franceschi, the lack of snow and shorter season means these young competitive skiers have to go elsewhere to train.

ISIDORO FRANCESCHI, SKI INSTRUCTOR (through translator): For those of us who have always worked in this area, it is heartbreaking to see nature spoiled like this. It isn't good NADEAU: As scares turn to resorts at higher elevations where there's

more snow, skiing in places like this will soon be wiped out for good.

Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN -- Campo Felice, Italy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Intimate details from one of history's most famous love triangles will soon be up for sale to the highest bidder. British model Pattie Boyd has put her collection of mementos including love letters from legendary musicians George Harrison and Eric Clapton.

That includes notes from Clapton while she was married to Harrison. Song lyrics, postcards, drawings, photographs, also up for grabs. Auction house Christie's says the collection is a fascinating glimpse into the lives of some of music's most influential end iconic figures. They're kind of creepy.

Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.

Please stay with us.

CNN NEWSROOM continues after a short break with my friend and colleague, Rosemary Church.

See you right back here tomorrow.

[01:56:38]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max.

I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, Joe Biden.