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Trump, Biden Wins the Michigan Primaries; CNN's Christiane Amanpour Returns to Bucha Post-Russian Occupation; White House Pressuring on Stopgap Bill as Shutdown Looms; Polish Protesters Angry on E.U. Policies and Ukraine Grain Imports; Prince William Pulled Out of an Event for Personal Reasons. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 28, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Just ahead, Joe Biden and Donald Trump take home wins in the Michigan primaries, further solidifying an all but certain election rematch.

CNN returns to Bucha, Ukraine, two years after Vladimir Putin's army committed brutal atrocities during their month-long occupation. We'll speak with the guest about her organization's efforts to help rebuild the city and restore a sense of normalcy to a shattered community.

And Alabama lawmakers introduced bills to protect anyone who provides in vitro fertilization after a controversial state Supreme Court ruling.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well, the crucial battleground state of Michigan is weighing in on the 2024 fight for the White House. Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden have won their party's primaries decisively, pushing them closer to a November rematch but with vulnerabilities on display.

Although President Biden raked in around 80 percent of the Democratic vote, a key voting bloc selected uncommitted on the party ballot to protest the Biden administration's support for Israel in Gaza. The U.S. President did not mention them in his victory statement.

And while Trump notched a solid victory over Republican rival Nikki Haley, she still netted about a quarter of the vote, which indicates they're still a sizable group of Republicans either firmly opposed to him or yet to be convinced he's the right candidate.

But the Trump camp is already looking ahead to the general election, saying that if he wins Michigan in November, he wins the whole thing. Here's CNN's Kristen Holmes in West Palm Beach, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT): Former President Trump's win in the state of Michigan, not really a surprise. They didn't really have to campaign there. He only went there three times since announcing his candidacy back in 2022.

And in fact, he wasn't even there on primary night. He instead just called into a GOP watch party. But what is important about this race is that they are looking for clues to inform them about a potential rematch against President Joe Biden.

So part of what they are doing is looking at the data. Who came out to vote? Who didn't come out to vote? And one of the sectors they're really looking at is union households, because Donald Trump and his team believe they can drive a wedge between Joe Biden and one of his core voting blocs, which is organized labor.

We saw Donald Trump twice in Michigan, really trying to reach out to these workers. At one point, just about a week ago, he was saying that the migrant crisis was going to affect jobs in Michigan. Then back in September, when he visited a non-union shop during the auto worker strike, he lamented Joe Biden's electric vehicle mandate, saying essentially that it was going to hurt these autoworkers' jobs.

Now, since then, we have seen the United Auto Workers endorse Biden. Donald Trump has lashed out at the president of the United Auto Workers. He's also tried to court the Teamsters. He went for a meeting in Washington, D.C., which was mixed results.

There were a lot of rank-and-file members who were very happy to be talking to the former president. But we also heard from one executive board member who called him a scab and an insurrectionist and someone who was anti-union. So clearly, this might be somewhat of a battle.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Nikki Haley is staying in the Republican race despite struggling to build momentum ahead of next week's Super Tuesday contest. Her campaign issued its own response to the Michigan results, saying, quote, "Donald Trump is losing about 35 percent of the vote. That's a flashing warning sign for him in November. So long as Trump is at the top of the ticket, Republicans will keep losing to the socialist left. Our children deserve better."

Thomas Gift joins us now from London. He is the director of the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London. Thank you so much for being with us.

THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR, CENTER ON U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Good morning, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So not surprisingly, both Joe Biden and Donald Trump each convincingly won their party's primary races in Michigan. But nearly 13 percent of the vote is uncommitted in the Democratic primary race, representing a protest vote against the war in Gaza and the president's support for Israel. How significant is that? And what could it potentially mean for the general election, do you think?

[03:05:08]

GIFT: Well, any protest vote is a sign of disaffection. But I do think it's important to keep in mind the baseline. In each of the last three Democratic presidential primaries, there's been an uncommitted vote that's exceeded 20,000. So the Listen to Michigan campaign in setting its goal at 10,000 was already establishing kind of an artificially low bar. 48,000, which is the most recent number I've seen who voted uncommitted, is non-trivial, certainly.

But Biden did win the state in 2020 by about 154,000, plus the actual percentage of uncommitted this year actually equals out to about the same who voted uncommitted in 2012, even though the numbers look inflated because overall turnout is higher.

I think a certain fraction of uncommitted vote will also turn out for Biden in November. This is just symbolism. So I do think that these defections are a concern for Biden. But Biden's prospects in Michigan and similar states, I believe, are going to hinge much more on wider demographics.

CHURCH: So how might the Biden administration respond to this uncommitted vote and would they view it as a threat at all to Joe Biden's election campaign, given what Donald Trump plans to do when it comes to Israel and its war in Gaza?

GIFT: Well, Michigan certainly matters in this protest vote certainly matters. I think the electoral map for Biden and Trump for that matter becomes very difficult if they lose it.

You know, but there's such a focus on this uncommitted vote, which is understandable. I think for the most part, it is I don't want to call it tangential, but it's not the main issue here. I think the main issue of who wins Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan comes down to who appeals to large, pivotal constituencies, blue collar workers, suburban women, etc.

That's where general elections are won and lost. And so I do think that Biden administration and Trump's campaign at the same time has to keep their eye on the ball here and they need to focus on sort of what is most likely to drive the vote.

CHURCH: And Donald Trump won his Michigan primary race gaining about 68 percent of the vote so far, but Nikki Haley still garnered nearly 27 percent support. What might that signal for a general election, given Trump can't seem to get that larger majority of Republican voters on his side, can he?

GIFT: Well, I still think the question is when, not if Haley is going to drop out. At some point, she's going to have to face the reality that this is a coronation, not a primary. It always has been. There is a certain fraction of Republicans who are turned off by Trump as their nominee. And for them, Haley is almost a protest vote of their own.

But it's not enough to make this race competitive. And momentum is likely to push some of Trump's vote totals even higher in Super Tuesday states where the composition of the voting base is much more MAGA. Haley's clearly hoping that Trump's legal challenges will catch up to him. This is a concern for Trump. We saw it in South Carolina as well, that there's a certain fraction that is just a holdout.

But by and large, you know, that vote probably is unattainable anyway. They've either decided that they're going to vote Democrat, stay home or maybe vote Republican.

CHURCH: And Haley is insisting that she will stay in the race until Super Tuesday on March 5th. Will that inevitably represent the end of the road for her and what has she achieved by staying in the race for so long?

GIFT: Well, I think that it is going to be the end of the road for her. I mean, I think that the end of the road for her practically was in Iowa and certainly in New Hampshire. Some of these early primary states were juiced for Haley. There was any place where she was going to do well. It was states where there's a strong independence streak and then in South Carolina where it was her home state.

But, you know, she's put up a fight for Donald Trump. I think a lot of people, especially Democrats, are going to respect that. But at the end of the day, I'm not sure how much she has achieved, except insofar as she's proven that there never was sort of a sizable anti-Trump vote in the Republican Party. There was always this theory that voters wanted the Trump light, that they wanted Trump without the drama.

I think that they wanted Trump specifically and they wanted Trump ultra. None of that's changed. So we're headed toward, you know, a Joe Biden versus Donald Trump rematch. Not many Americans are enthusiastic about it, but that's the reality.

CHURCH: Thomas Gift in London. Many thanks for joining us. I Appreciate it.

GIFT: Thanks.

CHURCH: In the Middle East, talks are still underway for a hostage for a ceasefire deal in Gaza. But officials from Israel, Hamas and Qatar are cautioning against President Biden's optimism that an agreement can be reached by the end of this week.

They suggest differences remain as negotiators work to secure a deal. Qatar, a key mediator in the ongoing negotiations, remains hopeful that a final agreement can be reached before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins in less than two weeks.

[03:10:10]

Meantime, Reuters and Al Jazeera are reporting that Hamas is reviewing a draft proposal for a temporary ceasefire lasting around six weeks, during which 40 Israeli hostages would be exchanged for 400 Palestinian prisoners. The White House says it hopes this leads to the end of the conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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, 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 VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces is promising to protect civilians if it expands its military operation in Rafah. The city in southern Gaza is now home to about 1.5 million people, including many who fled their homes in the north. Israel has said it plans to extend its military campaign in Rafah if its hostages are not returned by Ramadan. The IDF says it is discussing its plans with Egypt and the United States.

Well as the war grinds on, the situation is becoming worse. By the day, for the 2.2 million people of Gaza, the World Food Programme is warning of a real prospect of famine by May, with half a million people at risk. The group says Gaza is experiencing the worst level of child malnutrition anywhere in the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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, with one in six children under two years of age in northern Gaza suffering from acute malnutrition and wasting. And practically the entire population of Gaza are left to rely on woefully inadequate humanitarian food assistance to survive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The U.S. Agency for International Development is pledging $53 million in new assistance, but director Samantha Power says bureaucratic bottlenecks and inspection delays must be resolved. Some aid is getting into Gaza delivered by air for the second consecutive day from Jordan. State media reports six C-130 aircraft plus planes from Egypt, Qatar, the UAE and France took off from Amman on Tuesday.

And for more, let's go to journalist Elliott Gotkine, who joins us live from London. Good morning to you, Elliott. So what more are you learning about the situation in Gaza, with the IDF saying civilians will be protected if military operations are expanded into Rafah?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Rosemary, Israel's been talking about a ground offensive in Rafah for about two and a half, three weeks, and it has said all along that in order to do so, it would evacuate the civilian population to safe zones, to safer areas, with Prime Minister referring to areas north of Rafah, perhaps Khan Younis, once Israel has finished its operations there.

Now, that plan has subsequently been presented by the IDF to the Israeli government. It doesn't seem that the United States has seen it yet because the U.S. still insisting that until such time as it sees a concrete plan to protect the civilian population and that would enable them to get to areas where they would have shelter, where they would have aid, medicines and the like, until such time as they see that, they are cautioning against an Israeli ground operation.

But it's important to note that Israel is determined to go into Rafah even if these truce talks, which would see Israeli hostages freed in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Israel says that even if that comes into effect, whether it's President Biden's Monday assertion or at a later date, that Israel will go into Rafah anyway. And the reason for that is that Israel says that it needs to destroy Hamas militarily. There are four Hamas battalions in Rafah. It needs to destroy those to prevent Hamas making good on its promise to carry out October the 7th terrorist attacks again in future. And as a result, that is why it must go into Rafah.

Now, we heard from Daniel Hagari, the chief international spokesman for the IDF, telling CNN that this evacuation of the population needs to happen, needs to be with the right conditions, adding that we will make those conditions occur if we act and talking about safe zones where Palestinians would be able to receive food, medicines, shelter and the like.

So there are still concerns about that operation taking place and still hopes that that truce can come into effect, which would at the very least forestall the ground operation in Rafah. And during that truce, there could be talks about the potential end to the war between Israel and Hamas. Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Elliott Gotkine joining us live from London.

[03:15:09]

French President Emmanuel Macron is facing pushback after his comments on sending troops to Ukraine. We'll have reaction from leaders in Europe and the United States.

Plus, CNN returns to Bucha, Ukraine, how the city is coping two years after Russia's brutal occupation, which saw some of the worst atrocities of that war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: U.S. and European leaders are trying to distance themselves from comments by the French president about the potential deployment of troops to Ukraine. At a Ukrainian aid summit in Paris on Monday, Emmanuel Macron said sending Western troops to Ukraine cannot be ruled out, though he made clear no agreement had been made. A NATO official and several European leaders were quick to say there

were no plans to send in ground troops. And in the U.S., here's reaction from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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 VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Clare Sebastian is following developments. She joins us now live from London. Good morning to you, so what more are you learning about the fallout from President Macron's comments on deploying troops to Ukraine?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it really did cause a stir in Europe, Rosemary, and the Elysee Palace, a source in the Elysee Palace coming out later and clarifying saying that the point of this was to raise the debate, to signal to Russia that France was frankly willing to go to great lengths to prevent its victory in Ukraine.

And it certainly did raise the debate, but we saw mainly coming from NATO and European countries an effort to walk this back over the course of the afternoon. Many countries, the U.K., Poland, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Germany, which is the biggest military backer of Ukraine and Europe coming out and saying they had absolutely no intention, no plans of sending troops.

The Kremlin reaction voicing Europe's concern, underscoring how delicate this is, saying that sending European or NATO troops to Ukraine would lead to an inevitable conflict with Russia. But I think, look, it does get across, certainly from the French side, the sense of urgency here, the understanding perhaps that the unwillingness in Europe to cross these various Rubicons over the course of this war, be it tanks, be it long-range missiles, be it F-16s, has in part brought Ukraine to the point it's at now, an extremely delicate and vulnerable point.

And we saw an equal sense of urgency over in the United States on Tuesday, President Biden meeting with top congressional leaders, all of them trying to convince Speaker Mike Johnson to bring the supplemental Ukraine aid bill to the House floor. He did not give much away on that. Take a listen.

[03:20:10]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: You also heard, I'm sure, that there was discussion about the supplemental spending package. And I was very clear with the president and all those in the room that the House is actively pursuing and investigating all the various options on that. And we will address that in a timely manner. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Well, the question, of course, for Ukrainians who will be hanging on his every word is whether that will be timely enough. Every day counts at this point as Russia is making gradual advances on the front line. And that ultimately is the most immediate issue that the country is facing right now.

CHURCH: Clare Sebastian, joining us live from London, many thanks.

Residents in Bucha, Ukraine, are remembering the lives lost during Russia's brutal occupation two years ago. The Kyiv suburb was the scene of horrific atrocities early in the war, which Ukraine has long argued amount to war crimes. CNN's Christiane Amanpour visited Bucha on the anniversary of the invasion. And a warning, her report contains graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

FR, ANDREI HALAVIN, ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH: 99 years old.

AMANPOUR: Oh, my God, 1923 to 2022. Ninety-nine years old and a child of two years old.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): These people died not during the fighting, but during the occupation, says Father Andrei, 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.

HALAVIN: On this place, two truncheons.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Father Andrei became known after the Russians were pushed back for revealing the site 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 12th, 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 Chekmarova.

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 shot.

This is the fate they were trying to escape. The main street, Yablonska, in this residential Kyiv 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.

TETIANA USTYMENKO, RESIDENT OF BUCHA (through translator): How could this happen? How could this happen?

AMANPOUR: Standing in Yablonska 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 site.

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

AMANPOUR (voice-over): President Zelenskyy came here April 4th, 2022, right after his forces drove the Russians out. And he brings all his international visitors 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 seized the phones, we proved 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 Andrei 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:25:10]

CHURCH: As you saw in Christiane's report, the people of Bucha are resilient. Two years since those atrocities at the hands of Russian forces and still the town perseveres. Life is slowly returning to Kyiv's suburbs with the help of U.N. support. Local authorities, the Ukrainian government and international partners are repairing damaged homes and apartments, clearing debris and rebuilding schools.

And we go live now to Bucha and the city's former deputy mayor, Mykhaylina Skoryk-Shkarivska. Good to have you with us. If I can just start with, the world, of course, was shocked by the

brutal atrocities committed by Russian troops in Bucha at the start of the war in Ukraine. And now two years later, how far has Bucha come in its recovery effort and how are residents coping as they try to return to some sense of normalcy?

MYKHAYLINA SKORYK-SHKARIVSKA, FORMER DEPUTY MAYOR, BUCHA CITY COUNCIL: Greetings from Bucha, because now we have a sunny morning in our city. So it's like some kind of normal Ukrainian city in the country of the war, but you can't feel that war spirit now on the streets of Bucha.

So recovering is ongoing. It is going quite fast from the perspective of the leaders of the community. All shops are working. People are going to their offices now because it's morning here in Ukraine.

Pupils are going to school. So we live like ordinary life, but it's visually normal. We still have lots of damaged properties and businesses are destroyed. So the economy depends on those who are working now, on those businesses. And occupation was really very difficult for people here in Bucha because that was empty city from 50,000 of population. Most of the people were evacuated with those victims we saw before. And up to 3,000 homes and houses were destroyed or seriously damaged.

CHURCH: So let's talk about the rehabilitation efforts that are underway right now in Bucha and what more needs to be done to help the residents there.

SKORYK-SHKARIVSKA: Yes, we received very big attention and fast aid, but cities like Bucha and our neighbors they need long time support. And we are rebuilding and we bring life back. But we need money. And of course, we need support to our fight on the frontline because lots of people, ordinary Ukrainians became soldiers and they need to protect ourselves to prevent Putin to come back.

CHURCH: And as this war grinds on, what message does it send the international community to see Bucha rising from the ashes essentially showing signs of residents recovering from such brutality at the hands of Russian soldiers?

SKORYK-SHKARIVSKA: Yes, Bucha became the world known symbol of tragedy of civilian people who killed for no reasons. But we don't want to be the city of tragedy. We want to become the city of success, the city of future Ukraine, the city of strong Ukraine, which is independent and which is now fighting for our freedom from Moscow and from Putin's because he wants to see Ukraine without Ukrainians coming back and rebuilding. We want to prove that this is our land and we are people who are living and fighting at the same time.

CHURCH: And Bucha is a district center. Other towns in the region are struggling to rebuild as quickly. What more can you tell us about that?

SKORYK-SHKARIVSKA: Yes, you know, like 20 percent of buildings were destroyed in Bucha and most of them are done or in the process of planning to be done this and next year. But if we look at Turpin or Borodyanka or Hostomel or especially Moschun village, where every house destroyed or was destroyed or seriously damaged.

[03:30:00]

You will see that situation is not so good as in Bucha itself. So this region, Kyiv region, needs long-term support, needs international attention and additional money to recover properly.

CHURCH: Mykhaylina Skoryk-Shkarivska, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

And still to come, Joe Biden and Donald Trump win the Michigan primaries, but the incumbent president is facing backlash for an important voting bloc in the swing state. We'll take a look.

And street protests blocked borders and wasted grain. Farmers in Poland are demonstrating across the country. Details of why they're upset, after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. We are one step closer to a Trump-Biden rematch this November. The latest results from Michigan's 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 for uncommitted in protest against Mr. Biden's support for Israel.

Donald Trump far and away the winner in the Republican challenger Nikki Haley is vowing to stay in the race for as long as possible. A closer look now at what these results mean for President Biden as CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports from Dearborn.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Joe Biden easily winning the Michigan primary on Tuesday, but not dispatching with his biggest opposition. And that is the 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.

[03:34:55]

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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The White House is ramping up pressure on U.S. lawmakers to pass additional funding for Ukraine with a partial government shutdown just days away. House Speaker Mike Johnson is tying any new funds for Kyiv to a deal on tougher border security, although he still refuses to hold a vote on the bipartisan Senate border bill.

President Joe Biden met top congressional leaders for talks on Tuesday. CNN's Melanie Zanona has the latest from Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELANI ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, in a positive sign, all four congressional leaders left a meeting at the White House with President Biden on Tuesday, saying they do not want a government shutdown.

And since then, we've heard from key lawmakers expressing optimism that they are going to be able to come to an agreement on four different government spending bills ahead of Friday's first deadline. Let's take a listen to GOP leader Mitch McConnell.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), U.S. SENATE MINORITY LEADER: I think it's pretty safe to say we all agree we need to avoid a government shutdown. Speaker was optimistic that they'll be able to move forward first with the four bills. And under no circumstances does anybody want to shut the government down. So I think we can stop that drama right here before it emerges. We're simply not going to do that.

ZANONA: Now, that does not mean it is a done deal. We are at a stage in the negotiations where it could all come together very quickly or it could all easily fall apart. At issue is that Speaker Mike Johnson has been under immense pressure from his right flank to fight for a number of conservative policy wins. And we're told that some of the last minute hang ups have revolved around WIC, which is the Women, Infants and Children program, as well as provisions related to guns and veterans and background checks.

But really, at this point, the ball is seen as in Speaker Mike Johnson's court, as you have Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries all urging him to drop demands and try to come up with as clean as legislation as possible, clean bipartisan agreement. That is what they are pushing for.

Now, if a deal does come together within the next 24 to 48 hours, under that scenario, the House would act first. It would then kick over to the Senate. But in order to move quickly, it would require unanimous cooperation from the Senate. So even if a deal comes together soon, there's a chance that they're going to need a very short term stopgap spending bill or else stumble into a partial government shutdown.

And just to note here, those first four government funding bills are thought to be among the easiest. There are even more complicated bills that are running out of money next Friday. So all of this at this point, expected to come down to the wire.

Melanie Zanona, CNN Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We are just a few hours away from our latest look at the health of the U.S. economy. Stocks on Wall Street were mixed ahead of the gross domestic product report. It comes as home prices hit a new record high in December and order for durable goods fell sharply.

Consumer confidence is also down, according to the latest survey by the Conference Board. It shows Americans are less concerned about food and gas prices and more worried about the job market. Macy's says it will close 150 stores and Expedia announced it was laying off 1,500 employees.

Lawmakers in Alabama's House and Senate have introduced bills to protect anyone who provides in vitro fertilization. It comes after the controversial state Supreme Court ruling that fertilized embryos are considered children.

CNN's Meg Tirrell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Alabama, doctors like Janet McClaren-Bouknight have had to stop doing some of the most rewarding parts of their jobs.

DR. JANET MCLAREN-BOUKNIGHT, ALABAMA FERTILITY SPECIALISTS: I will say yesterday, the highlight of my day was the two phone calls I made to tell my patients they were pregnant. It was quickly followed by the realization that I won't make these phone calls next week.

TIRRELL (voice-over): Her clinic, Alabama Fertility Specialists, along with two others in the state, have paused in vitro fertilization treatments, facing legal uncertainty from a state Supreme Court ruling earlier this month.

[03:40:09]

The court declared that frozen embryos are considered children, throwing the future of IVF, where eggs are fertilized in a lab to create embryos, into question in Alabama.

MCLAREN-BOUKNIGHT: To have to cancel a treatment is just devastating. Now there is so much uncertainty about the safety of growing embryos and storing embryos that the only thing that we thought was safe for us and our patients was to pause and hold until we got better guidance and better protection to resume our treatments.

TIRRELL (voice-over): Families and doctors here are looking to state lawmakers to pass legislation that protects IVF, planning an advocacy day in the state's capital tomorrow.

In Birmingham, Health and Human Services Secretary Javier Becerra met with patients and healthcare providers.

LATOYA BEASLEY, IVF PATIENT: It's just been kind of a gut punch.

JULIE COHEN, IVF PATIENT: It is terrifying to think right now that I feel like my embryos are locked up.

TIRRELL (voice-over): Becerra tied the state court's ruling to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and said a solution needs to come at the federal level.

SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): Thank you everybody for being here.

TIRRELL (voice-over): On Capitol Hill, Democratic Senators led by Tammy Duckworth have introduced legislation aimed to protect IVF and today she challenged her Republican colleagues to act.

DUCKWORTH: In this nightmarish moment, it's nowhere near enough to send out a vaguely worded tweet suggesting that you care about women's rights despite a voting record to the absolute contrary. No, instead if you truly care about the sanctity of families, if you're genuinely, actually, honestly interested in protecting IVF, then you need to show it by not blocking this bill on the floor tomorrow.

TIRRELL (voice-over): For moms like Rebecca Matthews who grew up in Alabama and is raising her family here, IVF was her path to a family with two kids after years of heartbreak.

REBECCA MATTHEWS, IVF PATIENT: I've spent the better half of nine years trying to create life and no one knows how to take care of their living children or a frozen embryo better than a mama.

TIRRELL (voice-over): Meg Tirrell, CNN, Birmingham, Alabama.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Farmers across Europe have been protesting the E.U.'s economic and regulatory policies in recent weeks amid the rising cost of energy, fertilizer and transport and grain imports from Ukraine. Now Poland's Prime Minister says he may consider a wider ban on Ukrainian food imports after Polish farmers took to the streets on Tuesday.

CNN's Isa Soares has details.

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ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Farmers are angry and have had enough.

The piercing sirens echo through Warsaw streets as thousands of farmers gather to demonstrate against E.U. measures imposed on them.

The latest demonstrations escalate an ongoing dispute for weeks where farmers in over a dozen E.U. countries have been disrupting highways, border checkpoints and city centers against what they say is unfair competition from outside the E.U., particularly Ukraine, as well as restrictive environmental policies.

KAMIL WOJCIECHOWSKI, POLISH FARMER (through translator): We protest because we want the Green Deal to be lifted because it will bring our farms to bankruptcy as the costs of the Green Deal are not comparable to what we harvest and what we're paid for it.

SOARES (voice-over): Earlier this month, Polish farmers began a series of protests throughout the country, blocking highway border crossings to Ukraine and spilling at least 160 tons of Ukrainian grain, intentionally dumping corn across train tracks, which angered Ukrainian officials, demanding that those involved be punished.

Now their rally cries are being heard within Warsaw city center for marching straight towards the prime minister's office.

In an act of defiance, Polish farmers blocked a key highway to the German border on Monday, which they say is a fight for all citizens of the E.U.

DARIUSZ WROBEL, POLISH FARMER (through translator): We are fighting on behalf of all citizens so that they have access to healthy food produced in the European Union, so that food is not a luxury good and is available to all consumers throughout the E.U.

SOARES (voice-over): E.U. ministers huddled together on Monday, trying to streamline rules and reduce red tape as police and protesters clashed outside.

Belgium's streets were also paralyzed, with some 900 tractors backed up in the capital. Over in Catalonia, tractors blocked a busy highway between France and Spain, with union leaders demanding more noise.

But despite the week's long dispute, there has been no resolution yet. And as the anger grows, so does the test for E.U. unity. Isa Soares, CNN, London

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:45:10]

CHURCH: A disaster declaration has been issued for 60 counties in Texas, where at least three massive wildfires are burning out of control. One of them, called the Smokehouse Creek fire, has burned more than 120,000 hectares in less than 48 hours, already making it the fifth largest wildfire in the state's history.

And it's now jumped state lines into Oklahoma as well. Unseasonably hot, dry conditions and powerful winds are causing the flames to spread quickly. A number of communities are under evacuation alerts. Some people have lost their homes, though it's unclear just how many.

Parts of Australia are also 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 the state of Victoria by midday Wednesday. One bushfire has been burning out of control since Thursday, fueled by hot, dry and windy conditions.

It destroyed at least six homes. And authorities fear the flames could spread to more populated areas. This comes more than four years after bushfires ravaged large parts of southeastern Australia, killing 33 people and wiping out critical animal habitats.

Still to come, Iran will hold parliamentary elections on Friday amid regional tensions over the Israel-Hamas war. We'll take a look at what people in the country are saying about the upcoming vote. Back in just a moment.

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CHURCH: The U.S. and U.K. have issued new sanctions targeting quote "Houthi enablers".

The U.K. Foreign Office says they have named several 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 Guards. This is the second set of recent sanctions by the U.K. and the U.S. in response to Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron says the U.K. and its allies will not hesitate to act on those disrupting stability in the region.

Amid all this regional tension, Iran will be holding its parliamentary elections on Friday. The vote comes as Iran grapples with international sanctions, economic difficulties, and the fallout of mass protests triggered by the 2022 custody death of Massa Amini.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is in Tehran with a preview of what's at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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.

[03:50:06]

His sons Ihsan and Hussein dressed up in military fatigues, voter Mohammad Kalantari says he wants to show the U.S.-Iran's strength.

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 28th attack killing three U.S. service members and wounding dozens. Iran denies any involvement but has ripped into the U.S. for Washington's 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.

PLEITGEN: It certainly seems pretty clear how most of the people at this rally are going to vote in 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.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): It's the first election since massive protests erupted in Iran in late 2022 following the death of Masa 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.

UNKNOWN: No.

UNKNOWN: No, no.

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

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

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Mexico's elections are shaping up to be particularly violent this time around. Two mayoral hopefuls running in the same town were killed hours apart, according to the state prosecutor. Authorities say one of the candidates was found in his vehicle with gunshot wounds. The other candidate was found later that day also gunned down in his car.

Both were set to run in June 2 elections. Analysts say this year's electoral process is likely to be the most violent of the six-year term. Last month alone, there were 36 incidents of political electoral violence, according to a data analysis firm.

Health issues are keeping the British royal family in the public eye lately. Now Prince William has missed his godfather's memorial service. We'll have more details after the break.

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[03:54:50]

CHURCH: Britain's Prince William did not attend his godfather's memorial service on Tuesday. A royal source says it was because of an unnamed personal matter. Lately, nearly every move by the highest ranking British royals have come under heavy scrutiny because of the family's highly publicized health problems.

Max Foster has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL 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 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) CHURCH: A New York jury found two men guilty of murder in one of the most shocking killings in music history. Jam Master Jay was the D.J. at the heart of the pioneering hip-hop group Run DMC. He was killed at a recording studio in New York back in 2002. And it took almost 18 years for anyone to be charged in the case.

His childhood friend, Ronald Washington, and Jay's godson, Carl Jordan, Jr., were convicted of murder. Prosecutors say the shootings stem from a dispute over drugs. But defense attorneys say the real killer was the third defendant, Jay Bryant. He was charged last year and is set to stand trial in 2026.

Sean Diddy Combs is facing a civil lawsuit by a former employee. A former videographer and producer for the rapper accuses him of sexual assault, sexual harassment and, quote, "grooming".

The civil lawsuit also names several of Combs' employees and his adult son as co-defendants. The accuser says he was a victim of constant non-consensual groping and other assault during the time he worked with Combs. He says Combs did not pay him, threatened him and served alcohol laced with drugs to guests at parties, among other things. Combs' attorney denies the allegations and calls the accuser a liar.

I want to thank you for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues next, with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

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